Lawrence Dallaglio has expressed his sorrow after his former England teammate Tom Voyce was apparently swept away while crossing a flooded river, with the Rugby World Cup winner saying it has echoes of his own family tragedy.

Voyce was believed to have died after trying to flee his car when he got into difficulty crossing a ford on the River Aln, near Alnwick, Northumberland, as Storm Darragh lashed the UK.

The 43-year-old was last seen on Saturday and a major search involving the emergency services and volunteers continued on Wednesday.

The world of rugby expressed its shock and sadness at the apparent loss of the former England winger and full-back.

Dallaglio, whose sister Francesca was killed in the 1989 Marchioness disaster on the Thames when a boat carrying party-goers collided with a dredger, sent his best wishes to Voyce’s family.

Writing on X on Wednesday, Dallaglio said: “It’s the most horrific news and all I would say at this juncture is that please let us all respect Tom’s family and their suffering right now and keep them in all our thoughts.

“Having experienced the same emotions myself when Francesca was missing and presumed dead.

“Her body wasn’t recovered for 4 days after the marchioness sank.

“It’s just such a tragedy. Sending all my love x”

Dallaglio won titles with Voyce when they were both at Wasps and they played in the same England sides.

Searchers gathered at first light on Wednesday and scoured the banks of the river from the ford which is between Bolton and Abberwick, all the way to the sea at Alnmouth.

A water level indicator at the ford showed the river was still around one foot deep on Wednesday morning but it would have been much higher at the weekend when the storm drenched the Northumberland landscape.

A bunch of red roses was left on the riverside by the ford.

It is understood Voyce’s Toyota Hilux was recovered from the river at least 15m downstream from the ford.

Police believed he was swept away while trying to escape his vehicle.

The alarm was raised on Sunday morning when Voyce had not returned home following an evening with friends.

The search has included specialist officers from Northumbria Police’s marine section, the National Police Air Service, drones and dog handlers.

Volunteers from the North of Tyne and the Northumberland National Park Mountain Rescue teams joined them, along with Coastguard rescuers.

Police divers scoured the riverbed, while other search specialists equipped with poles waded downstream from the ford.

Coastguard specialists, with a trained dog on board, used a dinghy to carry out their sweep of the river.

Members of the public were asked not to attend the scene to join searchers.

Northumbria Police said Voyce’s wife Anna and all his family were grateful for everyone’s efforts to find him.

Voyce won nine caps for England during his career and spent six years at Wasps, from 2003 to 2009, where he helped them win European and domestic titles, moving there from Bath and then leaving to join Gloucester in 2009.

He made 220 Premiership appearances before retiring in May 2013.

It was understood Voyce, who was raised in Cornwall, relocated to Northumberland recently after living in London.