British TV director dies in New Zealand cliff plunge

A British television director died after falling from a cliff edge while snowboarding, it has been reported.

Caroline Johnstone, 44, had passed warning signs to retrieve a snowboard when she slipped on ice and tumbled 500ft, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Ms Johnstone, who emigrated to New Zealand in 1999, had been visiting a ski resort at Mt Ruapehu volcano in the North Island with her civil union partner when the accident happened.

Constable Conrad Smith of National Park police said Ms Johnstone had made a tragic decision to try to recover the board after she lost it.

“She has gone past warning signs and danger signs to look for her board, and she has fallen off a cliff,” he said. “It’s very sad.”

She is believed to have worked for the BBC before starting a freelance career in New Zealand, working on television shows.

Debra Kelleher, of Top Shelf Productions, for which she regularly worked, told the newspaper: “It is a huge shock. She was an amazing woman and had an incredible joy for life, and she was a bloody amazing director.”

Ms Johnstone’s father Alfie has flown from his home in south London for the funeral, the newspaper reported.