THE death of 14-year-old Aaron Burgess is a tragedy. Here was a young lad enjoying one of the first long, hot days of summer. And like thousands of youngsters before him he was larking around having fun and ended up in a river.
It should have passed without notice and Aaron should have climbed out only to continue spending time with his friends in the warmth of a July evening
But it was not to be. Whether he knew about the dangers of that stretch of river, whether he was aware of the risk of going into the water near a weir, we may never know.
Whatever the answers, in a few short minutes, Aaron lost his life. For his family and friends his loss will be devastating. They will ask why it happened.
There will, of course, be talk of putting up warning signs, questions about life-rings and possibly even calls for railings to be erected.
But the sad irony is that none of these things will have as much impact as the story of Aaron's death.
What happened to him will serve as a terrible warning to all youngsters who are attracted to cool off from the summer heat in a river.
That really is the only comfort that can be drawn by the sad and untimely death of a young man whose life ended way too soon.
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