Drowned bodyboarder was tourism chief

A bodyboarder who drowned off the north coast of Northern Ireland was a senior tourism official, it was revealed today.

Father of three David Roulston, 46, was an e-tourism and information manager with the North’s Tourist Board.

Shocked colleagues said today they were stunned by the tragedy.

A spokesperson said: “Nobody can quite believe that this has happened.”

Mr Roulston got into difficulty while bodyboarding off Benone Strand, near Castlerock, Co Derry, yesterday afternoon.

His wife Julie, who was on the shoreline at the time, raised the alarm but her husband’s body was not recovered from the sea until an hour later.

Mr Roulston lived at Knockvale Park in east Belfast and had worked with the tourist board for more than 20 years. His wife once worked in the photographic department.

A spokesperson for the board said: “David was a quiet and unassuming man with a very wry sense of humour and good fun. He was a warm and pleasant individual and well-liked.”