A MAN has died after refusing to let go of his pet dogs which had fallen through ice into the frozen River Tees.

The man, who has yet to be named by police, was dragged beneath the ice after going onto the river near the Infinity Bridge at Stockton, Teesside, on Sunday afternoon.


The tragedy occurred at about 1pm and the man, who had been in the water for 15 minutes, was eventually pulled out by three firefighters.

Speaking from the scene, Inspector Andy Greenwood, of Cleveland Police, said the dogs had strayed from the riverbank onto the ice and their owner had gone after them, but fell through just three metres from the shore.

Horrified witnesses tried to help the man to no avail.

Inspector Greenwood said: "People tried to help him by thrusting a log into the water, but he would not let go of the two dogs."

The man was airlifted to James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough by police helicopter where he was pronounced dead.

Insp Greenwood said the victim was a white man, approximately six feet tall, in his late 50s and with grey receding hair.

He had been wearing glasses and his front teeth were missing.

Police are appealing for anyone who knows his identity to come forward by calling 01642-326326.

The bodies of the dogs, one black and one beige, had not been recovered last night.

"This is a tragic incident," Insp Greenwood said. "I would urge people not to go near the ice as the consequences of this can be seen here. Lives can be lost."

Kevin Harrison, watch manager at Thornaby fire station, said specially trained fire officers recovered the man, who was unconscious.

The Humber Coastguard and ambulance service were also involved in the attempted rescue.

In a separate incident, a dog died yesterday morning(SUN) after straying onto the frozen pond at Cowpen Bewley country park in nearby Billingham.

Fire crews from Thornaby and Billingham stations used an inflatable boat to cross the ice and recover the Staffordshire Bull Terrier at around 10.30am.

They tried to revive the pet in front of its distressed owners for between 15 and 20 minutes, but it died despite their efforts.

Steve Walsh, watch manager at Billingham station, echoed Insp Greenwood's warning, saying: "Do not go onto the ice and ensure children and animals do not go near the water's edge. If an individual or animal does fall through the ice call the emergency services."

Meanwhile, a woman reported missing over the weekend was found lying in the snow, but later died in hospital.

The unidentified 42-year-old's body was discovered at around 11am on Saturday in an area of trees between Newbiggin Hall Gala Field and the Westerhope Comrades Social Club, Newcastle.

Elswhere, a group of walkers had to be rescued from remote moorland after becoming stranded by deep snow drifts in sub-zero temperatures.

The five men got into difficulty on the edge of Cropton Forest, at Stape, near Pickering, North Yorkshire, on Friday evening.

Police and mountain rescue volunteers trekked for more than hour to reach the group who were not seriously injured.

Parts of Britain had more snow yesterday(SUN) - but falls were less heavy than expected, experts said.

Temperatures rose above freezing in some areas, giving a little respite from the lengthy cold spell.

Julian Mayes, a senior forecaster with MeteoGroup, said: ''We have had a slow thaw in much of the country. Temperatures have managed to climb above zero in quite a lot of places.

''There has been some light snow or sleet in many places, but it's not had much effect.

''There won't be much change tonight, still some light snow coming in on an easterly wind, more like sleet around the coasts, and the places most likely to get further snow will be the mountains of Wales, and the Pennines. These areas are already covered with deep snow at the moment.

''Upland areas could see 5cm (2 inches), not as much as thought earlier today."