- Robert Hattersley was swept under by the current in the river in July 2022
The father of a boy who drowned in the River Tyne has told of his anguish after another teen died on the same stretch of water.
Carl Hattersley says yesterday's tragedy has brought back memories of his ordeal in July 2022 when his son, Robert, 13, died.
Robert, from Crawcrook, was swept under by the current when he got into difficulty while swimming with his pals in the river in Ovingham, Northumberland.
Yesterday, a 14-year-old boy died and a 13-year-old boy is in a critical condition after getting into difficulty in the same waters.
The teen who passed away had jumped in to save his friend who began to struggle while playing on a rope swing, locals revealed.
Mr Hattersley, who has set up a foundation in his son's name to raise awareness of the dangers of open water swimming, said he wanted to send his condolences to the boy's family.
'It brought back memories about what happened to our son, or what we went through,' Mr Hattersley said.
'We want to send our condolences to the family that have lost their young lad, to give them our love and support.
'If they want they can get in touch with a phone call because we know what it's like to lose a little boy.'
He said he was 'quite disappointed' with Northumberland Council, which he says has not been in touch with him since his son's death.
'We thought something would have been done by the Northumberland Council by now,' he said.
Mr Hattersley said he wanted to raise awareness of the dangers of open water swimming in schools.
'Let's get people aware, of all ages, like these young teenagers,' he said.
'If they're not from around here they might not know the dangers of Northumberland's rivers because it's quite dangerous and strong because of the current.'
He told Chronicle Live that there needs to be more awareness among older children about the dangers of the current.
'It can be quite strong in that area,' he said. 'It's very dangerous, that's why we want people to patrol the area.
'Kids are kids. They go down to the river and they don't see the dangers, they think it's fine. As the summer gets closer there's going to be more going down there.'
It is believed the two boys were part of a larger group of friends who had travelled from the west end of Newcastle around 12 miles away.
A woman who drove past the scene yesterday claimed the 14-year-old had attempted to rescue his younger pal who had jumped into the water.
The woman, who wished to remain anonymous, said: 'I heard the first boy went into the river from the swing and he showed he was in trouble so the second one went in after him - I think he's the one who died'.
Shortly after 3.30pm on Saturday, police received a report of concern for the welfare of two teenage boys who were in the river near the bridge at Ovingham.
Emergency services were immediately deployed to the area and one of the boys, aged 13, was rescued from the water.
He was taken to hospital where he currently remains in a critical condition, police said in a statement on Sunday morning.
The witness added: 'There was a group of about eight teenage girls and boys so they must have travelled here together.
'They have come here thinking it is a nice spot to play. It's very common to see kids travelling from the Newcastle area.
'They think it's a calm spot to jump in the river but they don't realise the dangers. It's absolutely devastating.
'My kids used to play down and there and I would always say please, please be careful.
'I've even been down there and cut the swing down before but the kids put it back up.
'There was a big group of people who had gathered and I think the parents of some of the kids were here.
'Usually when this happens they don't find the bodies until they search further down the river but I think this time the poor child was pulled not far from where he's gone in.
'The river is very deep and the kids don't realise how deep and dangerous it is.
'My head is spinning thinking about how sad it is.'
A massive manhunt was launched and a number of organisations conducted a thorough search of the area in a bid to locate the second boy.
'Sadly, the 14-year-old's body was later found in the water and he was pronounced dead at the scene,' police said.
The parents of both boys are being supported by specially-trained officers at this extremely difficult time.
Chief Superintendent Helena Barron, of Northumbria Police, said: 'This is an absolutely tragic incident, and our thoughts are with the families of both boys at this difficult time as we continue to support them.
'A number of agencies were involved in the incident and their support was hugely appreciated.
'It is with great sadness that we could not provide a more positive update.'
The police cordon guarding the site where the two teens went into the water was finally lifted on Sunday afternoon.
Forensic officers had earlier spent the morning gathering evidence from the scene.
Access to the river is gained via a steep muddy slope just off Main Road which runs through the village of Ovingham.
The rope swing on the river bank has been left shortened, with the rope wrapped around a tree branch.
All emergency services have now left the area.
The Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service took to X yesterday to announce that a road closure was in place, later adding: 'Teams are currently on scene at an ongoing incident at the river Tyne near Ovingham. 2 Swift Water Rescue units from Pegswood, an appliance from Prudhoe and a number of senior officers are present.
'We are working with Police, the Ambulance Service + Mountain Rescue at this time.'
A North East Ambulance Service spokesperson added: 'We were called to reports of concerns of two people in the water in Ovingham at 3.30pm this afternoon.
'We dispatched our full Hazardous Area Response Team as well as two ambulance crews, a specialist paramedic, a clinical team leader and an officer.
'We also requested support from Great North Air Ambulance Service'.
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2024-05-19 20:46:02Z
CBMiUmh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmRhaWx5bWFpbC5jby51ay9uZXdzL2FydGljbGUtMTM0MzYxMDEvZmF0aGVyLWJveS1kcm93bi1yaXZlci10eW5lLmh0bWzSAVZodHRwczovL3d3dy5kYWlseW1haWwuY28udWsvbmV3cy9hcnRpY2xlLTEzNDM2MTAxL2FtcC9mYXRoZXItYm95LWRyb3duLXJpdmVyLXR5bmUuaHRtbA
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