Family Shattered By Spanish Flood Tragedy

A grieving dad spoke yesterday of the death of his wife and one of their twin daughters caught by floods near their holiday home in Spain.

Torrential rain - and a storm (pictured) that grounded two tankers off the Spanish coast late last week - has left the English family devastated.

Lorraine Cullen, 47, and Lauren, 14, lost their footing as they tried to cross a bridge over a swollen river with Lauren's sister Samantha and a Spanish girl named Gemma who had befriended them.

The four were trying to cross the River Clariano to get to their isolated country home in L'Olleria, near Valencia.

However, when one slipped and pulled the others down, both Lorraine and Lauren fell into the torrent and were carried off by the current.

Samantha managed to cling to the branch of a pine tree and grab Gemma, also 14, but could only watch as her mother and twin were pulled under and drowned.

Mark Cullen, who owns a roofing company in Brighton, said: "My wife went to pick up Samantha from the town centre. When they drove back the water was up high over the bridge. They got out of the car, all held hands and started to walk across the river.

"It was only up to their knees, but one of them slipped and it caused a concertina effect. The others came crashing down. It carried them across the edge.

"My daughter Sam is quite strong and managed to grab hold of a tree and climb up. She saw Gemma and grabbed her, but Lorraine and Lauren were gone."

Rescue workers found the bodies of Lauren and her mother. The region has experienced heavy rains in recent days and roads and railway lines have been flooded.

Two freighters have spilled millions of gallons of fuel oil after being swept out of control by the storms, with the crew of one of the vessels, off Gibraltar, having to be rescued by helicopter.

This week, the storm moved north, away from the coast and caused extensive flooding in central areas around Madrid

(BMcC)