A heartbroken mother whose son drowned after jumping into a river to cool down has issued a heartfelt message amid a spate of heatwave-related drownings and ahead of the bank holiday weekend.
Fiona Gosling's 14-year-old son Cameron Gosling died after jumping off a rock into the River Wear near Bishop Auckland on a 'blazing' hot day on July 5 2015. The schoolboy experienced cold water shock, the body's natural reaction to sudden immersion in cold water, which tragically caused his heart to stop.
The panicked lad briefly surfaced and begged his mates for help with what 'little breath he had left' and, despite their best efforts, they couldn't find him. One of the boys contacted Fiona and the police and after a major search Cameron's body was found seven hours later.
Mother calls drowning an 'epidemic'
The 49-year-old stay-at-home mum says she believes drowning has become an 'epidemic' and is urging parents to educate their kids about the potential dangers of open water swimming.
The mum-of-four, who has spent a decade visiting schools and campaigning to have water safety taught in school, is 'relieved' it will be included on the national curriculum from September 1 and also backs the Mirror's ongoing efforts to improve safety.
The Mirror has been running a water safe 'Save Lives for Sam' campaign since the UK was hit by a horrifying spate of drownings back in May. We joined forces with the RNLI, The Royal Life Saving Society UK and dad Simon Haycock, whose 16 year old son Sam, drowned five years ago at Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham. This year's ongoing heatwaves have prompted so many people trying to cool off in open water - but tragically becoming part of the heartbreaking tally of lives lost.
Campaigning for water safety on the curriculum
Fiona, from Bishop Auckland, County Durham, said: "Me and a group of families that have lived through this have done government petitions for the past 10 years. Water safety is now on the national curriculum come September."
"For years when you're going in and putting yourself in front of all these kids and adults and sharing your life experience over and over just to do what the government should have done many moons ago. It should've been on there a long time ago."
She added: "I'm really pleased that the Mirror are campaigning to raise awareness on this most urgent issue too. It's vital that we make people aware of the dangers. Parents need to take a proactive approach to this as well."
"We all know that the summer is drawing to a close and kids are going to go back to school and we need to make sure every single child goes back to school in September. Over the bank holiday weekend take your five minutes and sit down with your kids, grandkids and kids you're caring for and just reiterate the messages about water safety."
Remembering Cameron
Fiona desperately wants to help others avoid the devastation she experienced when Cameron died in 2015. She said: "Your life just changes instantly."
"My other son didn't speak for weeks because of what he saw and what he experienced at the time. You've got to learn a whole new way of living, it's seriously hard. You never get over it but you learn to live a little bit differently and he's included in everything we do."
"It was a red-hot day, absolutely blazing hot, they'd been at the river for half an hour and Cameron hadn't touched the water at all. Then he got up and stood in a line of four boys and waited for his turn on the rock to jump in."
"They weren't messing around and they weren't pushing or shoving each other, they were just waiting. As soon as Cameron hit the water they knew there was a problem. He'd come back up and asked for help with the little breath he had left. Everything just went into a mad panic for everybody."
A coroner's report revealed cold water shock had caused Cameron's heart to stop instantly as soon as he hit the water and caused his throat to close off.
Fiona said: "Where we live you are a couple of minutes from an open body of water and it's something that as adults we did. We all did it and none of this happened."
"Cameron was hilarious, he could walk into a room and have you laughing within seconds of you coming in. His whole life revolved around his friends and the skatepark. He was lovely, we all say that."
"The major thing is what we now miss out on, we never saw Cameron hit his milestones. He didn't get his 18th, he never learned to drive, he'll never get married and we're never going to get grandkids out of him."
Since Cameron's tragic death Fiona has dedicated herself to teaching others about the dangers of open water swimming. After helping to launch the 'Dying to be Cool' campaign with Durham County Council in 2017 she has visited countless schools to help educate and share her son's experience.
