A man has been charged with causing death by dangerous driving after four of his children died when his Land Rover crashed into a river.

Nigel Gresham, 37, from Witham Drive, Chapel Hill, Lincolnshire, was charged with four counts of the offence after his car fell into the River Witham, Lincolnshire, on September 16 last year.

Four of his seven children - Willow, two, Angel, four, Thor, six, and Keavy, eight - died in the crash, which took place near Tattershall Bridge.

He was remanded in custody and police said he would appear at Grantham Magistrates Court this afternoon.

The tragic case had made headlines because the family were popular and well-known in their local community.

Jaswant Kaur Narwal, Chief Crown Prosecutor for Lincolnshire, said he and his colleagues had spent "a great deal of time" reviewing the evidence before deciding whether to prosecute because of the unique circumstances of the case.

“It is not a decision which has been taken lightly given the tragic deaths of Mr Gresham’s children and the loss he has suffered as their father," he added.

Mr Gresham had been driving with his partner, Sarah Bolland, 30, after leaving their home in Chapel Hill, Lincs, when their bright yellow vehicle left a single-tracked road. The 12-seater fell 15ft and landed on its side in the river.

At the time, Chief Inspector Mark Housley, of Lincolnshire Police, said that more members of the family would have died but for the “heroic” actions of members of the public.

Colin Dunlop, a 35-year-old bookseller, and his brother-in-law, Martin Lindley, 41, discovered the accident, and pulled several of the children out.

Mr Gresham, who was on sick leave because of depression at the time of the accident, is a Land Rover enthusiast. He wrote on a website devoted to his vehicle: “Land Rovers aren’t a vehicle, they aren’t even a way of life, they are a highly infectious disease.”

The family met a number of their friends at Land Rover shows, including Faye Ballard, who lives four doors away.

She described Willow, one of those who was killed, as “a monkey . . . full of mischief. She was lovely. She was a proper little girl.”