An inquest has been opened following the river death of Carlisle teenager Lewis Kirkpatrick and heard how a hero bystander risked his life and helped to rescue two other boys.
A coroner had also urged those going into water, particularly in hot weather, to be cautious and aware of dangerous steep drops in banking away from the shore.
Cockermouth Coroners’ Court was told this morning how Lewis died in the River Eden, on the outskirts of Carlisle, less than a fortnight after his 15th birthday.
He had left his city home at around 4.30pm on Friday May 26 and met friends.
Two people saw the boys paddling at the side of the river in the Rosehill area before they got into difficulty.
“They were there for some time, walking further out where they appear to have dropped off a ledge,” Cumbria coroner Margaret Taylor told the hearing.
“One child managed to swim out of his own accord.” That boy told bystander Luke Marwood that his friends needed help as they couldn’t swim.
“Luke had managed to get hold of two children,” said Ms Taylor. “But due to both of the children who were grabbing him panicking, he was almost pulled under the water himself. He tried to swim back to shore with both boys but was unable to keep hold of one of them.
“With Luke’s assistance one was able to get to the edge of the water to safety and the other was rescued by police officers who arrived on scene quickly.”
Lewis had not emerged. His parents Paul and Nichola were driven to the scene by a neighbour who was alerted to the incident. They found an air ambulance crew had responded and that one friend had been pulled out of the water and taken to hospital in Newcastle.
“Lewis at that stage was missing,” said Ms Taylor. “A multi-agency search and rescue operation was commenced, led initially by the fire and rescue service but handed over to the police in the morning.
“The searches went on continuously for 18 hours. Lewis’s body was found trapped under water very close to where he was last seen.”
Ms Taylor concluded that a full inquest into Lewis’s death would be needed once all enquiries have concluded. This is provisionally due to take place in late November.
“My condolences to Lewis’ parents at this very tragic time,” said Ms Taylor, who warned of steep river bank drops and urged people to exercise care when entering water.
Paying tribute to their son after his death, his parents also warned other to be aware of the danger of rivers and how water in hot weather could be deadly despite appearing inviting. “We don’t want any other families to suffer the same, awful loss,” they said.
Nichola and Paul thanked those who searched for their son — a kind, caring and funny teen who had a cheeky and infectious smile.
“Lewis was the baby of the family and his death has left a gaping hole that can never be filled,” they said.
