A MAN and his former lover drowned yesterday after a van was driven into a canal at a popular beauty spot in the Highlands.
The man was said to have driven the vehicle into the Caledonian Canal at locks known as Neptune's Staircase after being told by the woman she was going back to her former partner.
The man had apparently made a suicide threat last week after being
told that the relationship was over.
The woman is thought to have got into the van in an ill-fated attempt to talk the man out of taking his own life.
It was reported last night that police officers had earlier been in pursuit of the white van when it failed to stop. When two officers approached the vehicle, which was parked on the banks of the canal, it suddenly shot forward and plunged 20ft into the icy water at about 3.30am.
Deep tyre marks in the grass suggested that the van had been travelling at speed.
The man's body was recovered from the canal and taken to the Belford Hospital in Fort William, where he was pronounced dead.
Initially, the emergency services were not sure if there had been anyone else travelling in the van. However, by early afternoon a police diving team had discovered the vehicle and a woman's body inside.
A crane later hoisted a white van out of the water at the scene of the deaths near Banavie, Lochaber.
The deceased were named locally last night as Calum MacInnes, said to be in his 50s, and Christina Cameron, 45.
Police last night refused to say whether they had been chasing the vehicle at the time of the incident, but said that they were present when the van entered the canal.
A police spokeswoman said: "The officers were responding to a routine call following information from a member of the public. Police inquiries are ongoing."
Local residents in the tight-knit Highland community expressed their shock at the incident.
A woman, who did not want to be named, said she had heard there was a police chase. "It sounds like they went up a side road, up a steep hill and then they went soaring into the canal. It's ghastly," she said.
John Ireland, who lives less than half a mile from the scene, said last night: "The whole place was taped off this morning and the dive team was out. I saw a crane when I was driving past."
Late last night, police were unable to confirm the names of the deceased. They said that post-mortem examinations would be carried out and a report sent to the procurator fiscal.
The search for bodies involved Highlands & Islands Fire and Rescue Service and HM Coastguard, who were assisted by Strathclyde Police's underwater search unit.
The scene of the incident at Banavie is a popular tourist spot, overlooked by the Moorings Hotel, where no-one was available for comment last night.
Neptune's Staircase is a ladder of eight locks on the Caledonian Canal that raises vessels to a height of 70ft above sea level over a distance of 500 yards.
Thomas Telford designed and constructed the canal between 1803 and 1822 at a cost of around £900,000. It links the east and west coasts by canal and lochs over 60 miles.
The full article contains 563 words and appears in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
