Man dies ‘diving for golf balls’ in hotel lake

A man has died while diving into a lake within the grounds of the Hilton Belfast Templepatrick Golf & Country Club to retrieve golf balls as part of a charity event, according to the Belfast Telegraph.

Police received a report on Tuesday (26 October) shortly before 2.05pm for the concern for safety of a man in a lake in the Paradise Walk area of Templepatrick.

Police and other emergency services responded. Sadly, a man's body was later recovered from the water.

Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council said it had been made aware of the incident and was investigating.

In a statement the council added: “As this is a live investigation, no further comment can be made at this time. Our thoughts and prayers are with this gentleman’s family at this very sad time.”

A spokesperson for the hotel said: "We were very saddened to learn of the fatality in our grounds and we assisted the emergency services, when needed, yesterday. Our thoughts are with the bereaved family at this difficult time."

The 129-bedroom property was purpose-build in 1997 and is set in 220 acres of parkland on the Castle Upton Estate. Previously owned by former Ulster Unionist MP Danny Kinahan, the property was brought to market with a price tag of £7m in 2019 and sold earlier this year to Loughview Leisure Group for an undisclosed sum.

The company plans to rebrand the hotel as a DoubleTree by Hilton, the first in Northern Ireland. Loughview also owns Belfast’s Ten Square, Loughshore and Chimney Corner hotels.