A man and a woman have died after getting into trouble in the sea off a popular beach.

The two people were pulled from the water off Fistral Beach in Newquay, Cornwall, at about 21:45 BST on Sunday, about 15 minutes after HM Coastguard said rescue personnel were called.

Devon and Cornwall Police said both the man who was in his 60s and a woman in her 30s were confirmed dead at the scene.

Search and rescue teams from Newquay, Padstow and St Agnes took part in the operation, along with lifeboats from Newquay RNLI and a coastguard helicopter.

Police said their families had been informed and a file would be prepared for the coroner.

“Our thoughts are with them at this extremely difficult time,” officers added.

Mayor Drew Creek said the news was “awful” and “everyone in Newquay was feeling sombre”.

“We’re all feeling the loss of the individuals yesterday,” he added.

“They were down on holiday we understand and [this is] not the way you would want anyone’s holiday here in Newquay to be.

“Our thoughts and our feelings go out to the families affected.”

Creek said it was a “challenging time” for the community and expressed “a huge thank you” to emergency services and rescue teams.

Fistral Beach is one of busiest beaches in the country and a surfing hotspot.

The beach is known as the home of British surfing and often hosts major national and international competitions such as Boardmasters.

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