Teams of police divers were searching a river today after a honeymoon couple disappeared from an idyllic holiday cottage.

Fears are growing for the safety of the pair who were married on Saturday and booked into a cottage near picturesque Appletreewick.

The couple have not been seen since they set off on a walk from Haughside Cottage in the village on Monday.

But just hours afterwards the body of a man was reported to have surfaced then vanished in the River Wharfe at the famous Bolton Abbey beauty spot.

The alarm was raised by estate workers after the body was seen in a flash flood which hit the river

Police called to Bolton Abbey discovered a woman's anorak with documents containing details about the cottage in the pockets.

It is understood there were wedding cards on display when officers went to the cottage to check on the couple who come from Basingstoke, Hampshire.

The landlady who was the last to see the newlyweds before they went missing spoke today of her shock at their disappearance.

"It's very distressing. We warmed to them very much while they were here. They were a very nice couple. It's very sad," she said.

"They just went out and didn't come back. It must be very upsetting for their parents."

The woman, who had rented her cottage to the missing couple, did not wish to be named.

The missing pair's parents are believed to have travelled to Yorkshire.

Members of the North Yorkshire Police Underwater Search Team spent most of yesterday diving in the River Wharfe.

Their search resumed today, concentrating on a notorious stretch of the river between the Strid and the Cavendish Pavilion near Bolton Abbey, only a couple of miles from where the honeymooners had been staying.

A spokesman for the unit said: "We had a day's diving yesterday and today we plan to do a wade search to cover a wider area. We have identified certain specific areas where a body could be."

Three divers were involved in today's efforts. They have also been helped in their search of the river bank by Fell Rescue volunteers and the Bolton Abbey estate's water bailiff.

A police spokesman said river conditions were too dangerous for a search to begin immediately the body was seen.

Chief Inspector Ron Johnson of Skipton Police said: "We are extremely concerned because they have not been seen since Monday."

But he added the intensive searches had so far resulted in a complete blank.

Police are not releasing the names of the couple until relatives have been informed.

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