Farmers praised for rallying to emergency aid of those who died during River Esk incident

Farmers have been praised for their efforts to support emergency service personnel during an incident on the North York Moors which claimed the lives of three men.

North Yorkshire Police said a 4x4 was recovered from the river by the fire service just after 3pm and three men found inside had died.

Chris Ford, who lives nearby, told the PA news agency the men were part of an off-roading group when they crossed a ford on Rake Lane.

Mr Ford, a firewood salesman, was called to the scene to help recover the vehicle with his tractor and found it fully submerged beneath the water, he said.

He and two others used tractors to pull the 4×4 on to the riverbank.