Woman's body recovered from Clyde River plunge car Published duration 21 July 2016

image copyright Scott Barclay image caption The car was later lifted out of the water

The body of a woman has been recovered from a car which plunged into the River Clyde.

Police confirmed the discovery following a search by emergency services which had been called to reports that one person was trapped in the vehicle.

The incident happened on Lapwing Road, next to the Braehead shopping centre in Renfrew, at about 13:20.

The car was later lifted out of the water by a recovery vehicle.

A Police Scotland spokesman said: "Inquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances of how the vehicle came to enter the River Clyde, with crash scene examiners conducting an investigation at the location."

A post-mortem examination will take place to establish the exact cause of death.

image copyright @Fraser_54

image caption A hole can be seen in the safety fence where the vehicle crashed through and into the river

A hole could be seen in a safety fence where the vehicle crashed through and into the river.

The site is close to a large housing block, and a crowd gathered at the police cordon.

Witnesses said the car was seen driving "at speed" and clipping another two cars before breaching the metal fence and entering the water.

One resident who asked not to be named said: "I heard a loud noise and minutes later there were police everywhere then the helicopter arrived.

"I heard that it was a woman driving alone."

media caption Body recovered after car plunges into River Clyde

image caption A large number of emergency vehicles are at the scene

image caption A coastguard helicopter carried divers to the scene