BREAKING NEWS: British tourist, 46, drowns in rough seas in front of his wife during family holiday in Italy

A British holidaymaker has drowned in rough seas in front of his wife during a family holiday in Italy, police confirmed today.
Brian Kent, 46, was with his wife Sally and several other family members when the break turned to tragedy as the group went for a late afternoon swim after lunch.
Witnesses said that within minutes of jumping into the water Mr Kent was in difficulties, as was his wife and several others in the party, as the strong wind combined with dangerous currents whipped up waves.

Dangerous currents: Witnesses said Mr Kent got into difficulties in the sea in front of the beachside Hotel Aurora (stock photo)

The incident happened at the resort of Sperlonga, a seaside town popular with British holidaymakers 90 minutes south of Rome. The group had arrived in Italy earlier this week and decided to spend the day by the sea.
Mirella Gagliardi, owner of the Hotel Aurora in Sperlonga, said: 'It all happened right in front of our hotel. The man who died had arrived with his wife and group of other British people in the morning to spend the day by the sea.
'They had a very late lunch and ate and drank quite a bit, then they decided to go for a swim.

'The area of beach where they swam is public so there is no lifeguard but there was a red flag warning that and the sea was rough - it wasn't the right sort of day to go into the water.
'He hit problems right away and was dragged under by the currents and the waves, the sea was rough but I think the fact he had just had an abundant lunch probably didn't help either.
'His wife and some of the others were also in difficulty but they managed to get out of the water.
'The man wasn't so fortunate, the coastguard and police were on the scene and managed to pull him from the water but they couldn't do anything for him. It all happened in front of his poor wife. She was in a very bad way, very shocked.'

Tourism hotspot: Sperlonga is about an hour and a half south of Rome and is a popular beach resort

A coastguard helicopter was scrambled to the scene and paramedics were also dispatched but there was nothing that could be done and Mr Kent was declared dead at the scene and his body taken to the mortuary of a local hospital.
The group, all from London, spent the night in the Aurora hotel, while arrangements were made to repatriate Mr Kent's body after a local magistrate gave the go ahead for it to be released. They are expected back in Britain today.

Stefano De Stefano, owner of the Taverna di Ulisse restaurant, where the party had lunch said: 'It was such a tragic end to what should have been a beautiful day by the sea. They had come in here for lunch and had pizza and beers and they were all laughing and joking.
'There must have been around ten of them all together, all men and women and there was a little girl as well. They were here for an hour, maybe more then they all went off to the beach. The weather was nice but the sea was rough, the waves were high and there was a strong wind as well.

Tragic: Mr Kent drowned after visiting the beach at Sperlonga, Italy (stock photo)

Holiday: The group had enjoyed a large lunch at a taverna in Sperlonga before headed to the beach (stock photo)

'The first we knew something had happened was a few minutes later when we heard all the noise, looked outside and saw the ambulance and the helicopter on the beach. The man was on the sand and they were pumping his chest but sadly there was nothing that could be done.
'The area doesn't have a lifeguard and it's still early in the season and it happened midweek. If it was the summer there would have been a guard nearby. He must have been hit by a cramp after going in the water so soon after lunch.'
A police spokesman in nearby Gaeta said: 'We were called to the scene and arrived along with paramedics and the coastguard, to a man who had got into difficulties in the sea. He was pulled from the water and cardiac massage was carried out but there was nothing that could be done. 
'His body was taken to a local hospital and his family spent the night in the hotel. The magistrate ruled there was no need for an autopsy and the body will be repatriated back to Britain.'

DAILYMAIL