A elderly man died after becoming trapped in his car in flood water as a storm battered the region last night.
The pensioner's 4x4 was wedged under a bridge near a ford at Pilgrims Way in Chew Stoke.
It is believed the man's vehicle became stranded in flood water before becoming stuck under a bridge near to Rectory Fields.
Fire crews and members of a speciaist swift water rescue team released the man, believed to be in his 70s, but he was pronounced dead in an ambulance taking him to hospital.
An Avon Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said the coroner had been informed and an investigation had been launched into the circumstances surrounding the man's death.
He said: "Tragically we have had one fatality.
"We were called to reports of a car submerged in water in Pilgrims Way, in Chew Stoke, just off the main road.
"Emergency services attended and several members of the Avon Fire and Rescue swift water rescue team, who are based at Bedminster fire station, went into the water.
"They recovered a man from the vehicle, he was then left in the care of paramedics and I understand that while being taken to hospital he was declared dead en route.
"The coroner has been informed and there will be a full investigation."
