Powerboat driver dies after crashing into a houseboat during race

A powerboat driver has died after crashing into a houseboat during a racing event near Lowestoft.

The Circuit Powerboat Association (CPA) said Brett Duncan was injured "during a lone racing accident" at about 6.50pm on Thursday at the Lowestoft and Oulton Broad Motor Boat Club. In a statement posted on Facebook on Friday, the CPA said the 51-year-old circuit powerboat racer was "an experienced and popular member of the power boating community".

It said it was "shocked and saddened by Brett's untimely passing and our sincere thoughts and condolences are with his family and friends at this tragic time". The association thanked event staff and the emergency services "for their swift and timely response to the incident" and asked that Mr Duncan's family be "given the privacy that they need to grieve".

Read more on Sky News:Striking doctors want the impossibleScots divided by Trump's visitHow photographers saw the Gallaghers Suffolk Police said officers were called just after 7.10pm "to reports of a collision involving a powerboat and a stationary houseboat in the vicinity of Oulton Broad Water Sports Centre". "The East of England Ambulance Service, Coastguard and a volunteer paramedic from Suffolk Accident Rescue Service (SARS) were also on the scene but despite the best efforts of medical personnel, the driver of the powerboat - a man aged in his 50s - sadly died at the scene," the force said.

"There were no other injuries as a result of the collision. "Police are working closely with partners and other agencies in relation to the incident." A spokesperson for the East of England Ambulance Service NHS Trust said it sent an ambulance, two rapid response vehicles, two paramedic cars and an air ambulance to the incident, but, "sadly, despite the best efforts of all involved, a man had died at the scene.".