Burntwood woman's parents die in Spanish flooding after being found in car

A British couple have died after floods hit the Spanish region of Valencia. Don Turner, 78, and wife Terry, 74, were found dead in their car, their daughter has reavealed.

The couple went missing last week and had not been seen since heavy downpours caused flash floods in the eastern part of the country. Ruth O'Loughlin, their daughter, who's from Burntwood in Staffordshire, told the BBC her parents' bodies were found in their car on Saturday (November 2).

Ruth had previously told the broadcaster that her parents had moved to Spain a decade ago as they'd "always wanted to live in the sunshine". On Thursday (November 1), Ruth was told her mother and father were missing after friends checked on them and found their pets at home, but their vehicle gone.

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Terry had told friends they were "popping out" to get some gas, she said. More than 200 people have been confirmed dead in the flooding disaster so far. A Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office spokesperson said: "We are supporting the family of a British man and woman who have died in Spain and are in contact with the local authorities."

The storms have now dumped rain on Barcelona, prompting authorities to suspend commuter rail services. Spanish Transport Minister Oscar Puente said he was suspending all commuter trains in north-east Catalonia, a region with a population of eight million, on request from civil protection officials.

Mobile phones in Barcelona issued an alert over "extreme and continued rainfall" on the southern outskirts of the city. The alert urged people to avoid any normally dry gorges or canals.

Mr Puente said that the rains had forced air traffic controllers to change the course of 15 flights operating at Barcelona's airport, located on the southern flank of the city. Several major roads have been closed due to flooding.

Classes were cancelled in Tarragona, a city in southern Catalonia about halfway between Barcelona and Valencia, after a red alert for rains was issued. Meanwhile, in Valencia, the search continued for bodies inside houses and thousands of wrecked cars strewn in the streets, on major roads, and in canals that channelled last week's deluge into populated areas. Citizens, volunteers and thousands of soldiers and police officers are helping in the gargantuan clean-up effort of mud and debris.