The funeral was taking place today of a former Bradford man who died in a yachting accident in the Lake District.

Father-of-five Michael Walker, 53, died after the yacht, called Hitchhiker, was blown over by freak gusts on Lake Windermere.

He was dragged to shore by 14-year-old Laura Harkness, the daughter of the yacht's skipper, but was declared dead at Westmorland General Hospital in Kendal after attempts to revive him failed.

Police spokesman Mike Head said: "The accident happened when the yacht carrying three other people was blown over by a strong gust of wind.

"Two people thrown overboard when the yacht capsized managed to get back on and the other two tried to swim to the shore. Lake wardens tried to resuscitate Mr Walker but were unable to save him."

The crew - comprising skipper Paul Harkness, 46, his daughter Laura, Jeffrey Houghton and Mr Walker - had moments earlier decided to pull out of the Winter Series yachting race because of the high winds.

Today Mr Harkness said they were shocked by the accident last Sunday.

"Everybody is devastated. Everybody is trying to come to terms with what happened," he said.

Mr Walker lived in Wimbourne Drive, Allerton, before moving to Barrow-in-Furness more than 20 years ago.

He was a successful businessman and had started a job as a factory manager in Park Road, Barrow, a week ago. He was also a keen sailor for more than 20 years and had his own boat.

John Burgess, commodore of Windermere Sailing Association, said: "Obviously we are devastated. We have never had anything like this happen before. We are launching a full investigation to see if there is anything we could have done."

An inquest has been opened and adjourned into Mr Walker's death. His funeral was taking place in Barrow-in-Furness.