April 23, 2011

Heartbreaking scene as charity worker returns to reservoir where her husband, mother and foster children drowned after car ran off the road

With her head bowed in sorrow, the foster mother who lost her family in a horrific car crash lays a bouquet in tribute.
Charity worker Denise Griffith, 55, made a tearful return to the scene yesterday to deliver the flowers, including a single white rose, near the edge of the reservoir that claimed their lives.
Accompanied by other relatives, she broke down as she left a handwritten message in memory of husband Emyr, 66, foster sons Peter Briscome and Liam Govier, both 14, and mother Phyllis Hooper, 84.
The tribute from the regular churchgoer read: ‘Safe in His arms. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. Love Andrew, Denise, Lloyd and Debs.’
Grief: Denise Griffiths, accompanied by a well-wisher, lays a bouquet of flowers at the scene of the crach that killed her husband Emyr and 14-year-old foster children Peter Brisocome and Liam Govier and mother Phyllis Hooper
Grief: Denise Griffiths, accompanied by a well-wisher, lays a bouquet of flowers at the scene of the crach that killed her husband Emyr and 14-year-old foster children Peter Brisocome and Liam Govier and mother Phyllis Hooper
Denise Griffiths at the scene of the car crash where her family drowned at Llyn Clywedog in Mid Wales
The message on the flowers left by Denise Griffiths the Woman who was the only survivor in the car crash at Clywedog dam in Mid Wales
Emotion: Ms Griffith was accompanied by relatives and left flower with a note that read ‘Safe in His arms. You are all in our thoughts and prayers. Love Andrew, Denise, Lloyd and Debs.’
Andrew and Lloyd are believed to be her brothers, Andrew and Lloyd Hooper, aged 59 and 44 respectively.
She stood for several minutes at the edge of the Llyn Clywedog reservoir near Llanidloes in Powys, mid-Wales, in respectful silence. She was then escorted back to a waiting car by her companions.
Police, meanwhile, interviewed her for the first time yesterday. Mrs Griffith, who escaped with minor injuries, had been too upset to speak formally following Wednesday’s incident.
She had been at the wheel of the Peugeot 807 when it was apparently ‘clipped’ by another car and careered off a picturesque route into the water during the family’s Easter holiday.
DENISE GRIFFITH
Tragedy: Phyllis Hooper, 84, who died with her son-in-law and his two foster sons when their car plunged into the reservoir
Tragedy: Mrs Griffith, left, returned to the scene to watch as husband Emyr, 66, mother Phyllis Hooper, 84, right, and foster sons Peter Briscome and Liam Govier, both 14, were plucked dead from the wreckage
Grim search: Dyfed Powys Police officers at the scene of the tragic accident at Bwlch y Gle Dam, Clywedog reservoir near Llanidloes, Powys mid Wales
Grim search: Dyfed Powys Police officers at the scene of the tragic accident at Bwlch y Gle Dam, Clywedog reservoir near Llanidloes, Powys mid Wales
It is believed she decided to stay in the Llanidloes area after being checked over at a nearby hospital following the crash.
So she has yet to return to her home almost 100 miles away  in Pontypridd in the South  Wales valleys.
Friends of the Griffiths yesterday paid tributes to the couple’s ‘excellent’ foster parenting skills. And Bethany Baptist Church deacon Andrew Phipps said: ‘We will be there for Denise.’
He said the congregation was ‘stunned’, adding: ‘We will be praying for them and doing what we can to help.’
A neighbour, John Davies, said: ‘This is so tragic. They were such a nice family, people who would do anything for you. The mother (Mrs Hooper) was really nice as well.  My wife died about two years ago and she would do anything to help out. She was very generous.’
Perilous: Despite being regarded as a local beauty spot, the road itself has a reputation for being potentially treacherous
Perilous: Despite being regarded as a local beauty spot, the road itself has a reputation for being potentially treacherous
Search: Rescuers in a boat near the scene where a car plunged into the reservoir
Search: Rescuers in a boat near the scene where a car plunged into the reservoir
John Ivor James, 61, from Aberystwyth, who was a friend of Mr Griffith, said the chapel minister’s son had worked as an electricity meter reader and a postman.
‘Emyr was an outstanding  friend,’ said Mr James. ‘He was  a very considerate man, and it  was through him that I met my wife, Janet.
‘He was a very good squash, bowls and snooker player, and a reasonably good footballer.
‘He was deaf though, but that didn’t stop him and he was a very good lip reader.’
Mimi Lloyd, from Aberystwyth, who was one of the Griffiths’s first foster children, said: ‘Emyr was an absolutely lovely man. He did not have a bad word to say about anybody. I shall miss him greatly.’
A 23-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving.
Gordon Dyche was released  on bail.
From the Llanidloes area, he was driving a Ford Mondeo which is being examined by police.
Grim scene: Rescue workers at the reservoir appear to be carrying something from the water's edge to waiting ambulances
Grim scene: Rescue workers at the reservoir appear to be carrying something from the water's edge to waiting ambulances
Tragedy: The Griffith family Peugeot is removed from the reservoir
Tragedy: The Griffith family Peugeot is removed from the reservoir
Recovered: A Ford Mondeo thought to have been involved in the crash is taken away from the scene of the accident
Recovered: A Ford Mondeo thought to have been involved in the crash is taken away from the scene of the accident

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