A BIRTHDAY trip ended in tragedy for a North-East family when a much-loved father died in the river at a popular beauty spot.

The body of primary school teacher Wadud Abdul was recovered from the River Tees at Low Force, near Middleton-in-Teesdale, Barnard Castle, this evening (Friday, May 29), following a major multi-agency search.

Mr Abdul, from the Westgate area of Newcastle, was celebrating his 36th birthday with his family at the 5.5m-high waterfall when he got into difficulty while swimming in the river at about 3.30pm yesterday.

When he failed to resurface, his family contacted the emergency services and an extensive search lasting more than 24 hours began.

At 6.15pm today (Friday) Durham Police released a statement confirming Mr Abdul’s body had been found.

“In the last hour the body of Wadud Abdul has been recovered from the River Tees at Low Force near to Middleton-in-Teesdale.

“Mr Abdul who was a teacher at The Hadrian School in Benwell was enjoying a family day out at Low Force near to Middleton-in-Teesdale yesterday, his 36th birthday, when he decided to go swimming.

“Police divers found Mr Abdul’s body near to the spot where he had been swimming. The discovery follows an intense search operation.

Mr Abdul’s family have been informed.”

Police, firefighters, the North East Ambulance Service, the Great North Air Ambulance Service and

Teesdale and Weardale Search and Mountain Rescue Team were involved in the operation, which extended as far downstream as Middleton-in-Teesdale.

The search party used boats and canoes to travel up and down the river, while mountain rescue volunteers scoured the riverbanks.

Northumbria Water also assisted by reducing the volume of water released from Cow Green Reservoir, which lowered the level of the river by two to three feet.

Speaking at the scene earlier today (Friday) Inspector Kevin Tuck, of Durham Police, described the search as “difficult and dangerous” but said officers were keeping an open mind.

“We won’t give up until we find him,” he added.

By this point, efforts were focused on the pool of water between the waterfall and the Wynch Bridge where Mr Abdul jumped into the river with another family member.

Divers from Northumbria Police’s marine unit were called in and it was they who recovered Mr Abdul’s body from the water.

Mr Abdul’s family, who returned to Low Force to witness the search efforts, have asked for privacy at this difficult time.