Tributes paid to boy, 12, who drowned during UK heatwave

A boy who died after getting into difficulty in water in Lancashire during the UK heatwave has been named.

In a statement released by Lancashire Police on Wednesday, the boy was named as 12-year-old Junior Slater from Clayton-le-Woods.

Junior’s family paid tribute to their “blue-eyed little boy”, who they described as “the life and soul of our lives”.

Emergency services were called just after 2pm on Tuesday to a report of a concern for safety after a boy had started to have trouble in the river at Ribchester while swimming with friends.

A body was later recovered from the river at around 7.50pm.

His family said in a tribute: “Our little blue-eyed boy. He will be truly missed. He was the life and soul of our lives. Words can’t describe how we are feeling right now. We will forever love you Junior.”

Police confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious.

It comes after six other young people died in swimming-related incidents during the heatwave.

Police in Cheshire recovered a body on Wednesday, believed to be a 17-year-old boy who went missing in the water at Pickmere Lake, Marston, Northwich on Tuesday.

The family of 15-year-old Declan Sawyer also paid tribute to their “much-loved” son, who died after he got into trouble in the water at Swanholme Lakes in Lincolnshire on Sunday.

On Monday afternoon, a 13-year-old boy also died after getting into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam, near Halifax, West Yorkshire.

That evening, the body of a teenage girl was recovered from the water at Kingsbury Water Park, Warwickshire.

The same day, a man in his sixties died of cardiac arrest after entering the sea at Tregirls Beach, Padstow, to help two family members who were in difficulty, Devon and Cornwall Police said.

In the early hours of Tuesday morning, police said the body of a teenage boy was pulled from the water at Rother Valley Country Park near Sheffield.

Another body has been found in the search for a teenage boy who went missing after he was last seen swimming at Hawley Lake on the Hampshire-Surrey border on Tuesday afternoon.

A 15-year-old girl is also in a critical condition after getting into difficulties in the water at Formby beach on Monday, Merseyside Police said.

The Royal Life Saving Society has issued a plea for everyone to “stop and think” before getting into the water, following the deaths.

It noted “warmer weather unfortunately correlates to an increase in accidental drownings” and despite warmer air, “water temperatures remain very cold”.

Tuesday was the hottest day in May on record for both England and Wales, according to the Met Office, with Kew Gardens provisionally reaching 35.1C and Cardiff Bute Park reaching 32.9C.

Paramedics in London have today urged people only to call 999 in life-threatening situations as emergency calls promoted by the heatwave saw levels soar to those last seen during the peak of the Covid pandemic.

Call handlers said Tuesday was the service’s sixth-busiest day ever, with record numbers of calls from 2pm until midnight, for a range of conditions linked to the heat, including difficulty breathing, dizziness and fainting.

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