A NORTH-EAST artist has died after being swept away at a waterfall in the Philippines.

Renowned painter Richard Kidd, 56, from Gateshead, drowned while swimming in Bataan's Dunsulan Falls.

He was overpowered by strong currents on Saturday at the waterfall, west of the country's capital Manila.

Police investigator Kristoffer Mendoza says Mr Kidd was swept away as he swam below the water cascade, which was swollen from rainfall.

Senior Superintendent Manuel Gaerlan said Mr Kidd went to the tourist spot on Saturday with his British girlfriend, Ailsa Lamble, 25, and her father, who are residents of Bataan.

He was declared dead on arrival at the Saint Joseph Hospital, in Balanga City, just after 7.30pm, on Saturday.

It is believed Mr Kidd, who had exhibited work at Tyneside galleries including the Biscuit Factory, in Newcastle, had been in the Philippines for three weeks visiting his girlfriend's father.

He was well known in art circles for his abstract paintings of countryside scenes and was also a popular children's author.

Mr Kidd's parents today said from their home in Low Fell, Gateshead, they were too upset to speak about their son's death.

Richard Lamble told a Philippine newspaper he had decided to visit the famous waterfalls with his daughter and Mr Kidd.

The group had reportedly only been at the river for ten minutes when Mr Kidd got into difficulties.

"As soon as Richard got into the water, into what looked like a basin, he was sucked straight under and could no longer come up to the surface," Mr Lamble said.

Biographies posted on gallery websites, reveal Mr Kidd exhibited all over the world, including at the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art) museums in San Francisco, Rio de Janeiro, and Zurich.

He studied fine art at Newcastle University and lived in both London and New York, but later returned to the Tyneside, where he was born and raised.