THREE people were due to appear in court today accused of causing the death of a woman after she was trapped in a capsized pleasure boat.

The defendants, two women and a man, were due before magistrates in Kidderminster accused of the manslaughter of tax worker Jane Turner.

Not named

Those charged - a 48-year-old man and a 39-year-old woman, both from Kidderminster, and a 42-year-old woman from Stourport-on-Severn - have not yet been named.

Mrs Turner, a divorcee from Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, died in hospital after the vessel overturned during a festival at the marina in Stourport-on-Severn, Worcestershire, on September 6, last year.

The 45-year-old, who worked for the Inland Revenue, was one of several passengers aboard the 20ft cruiser Sweetie Pie which sank during Stourport's annual Land and River Carnival.

The other passengers either swam to the river bank or were hauled to safety by rescuers.