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Mum of boy who drowned campaigns for more children's swimming lessons

BBC KaleighBBC
Kaleigh Wharton said she did not want other parents to experience tragedy

A mother is campaigning to improve children's access to swimming lessons in memory of her son who drowned in a river.

Kieran Wharton died in May last year after entering the River Soar in Barrow-upon-Soar, Leicestershire.

His mother, Kaleigh Wharton, said the 13-year-old had been unable to swim and got into trouble in the water.

She said she now wanted to protect other families from the tragedy she had experienced.

Ms Wharton, 36, said she was considering setting up a charity, in her son's name, to help fund swimming lessons for children.

She has also started an online petition, signed by more than 58,000 people, calling on the government to improve access to swimming lessons for primary school aged children.

Family handout Kaleigh and Kieran WhartonFamily handout
Ms Wharton said her son Kieran was a kind and funny boy

Ms Wharton said Kieran had not learned to swim because her family could not afford the cost of private lessons and she wanted to bolster provision in schools.

"I want children to be in a position where they are able to confidently swim 25m (82ft) by the time they leave primary school," she said.

"Schools often want to run swimming lessons for pupils but they face budget restrictions or the closure of pools and they just can't."

The bridge over the river in Barrow-upon-Soar
Ms Wharton said she had found it difficult to continue living near the spot Kieran had drowned

Ms Wharton said Kieran had been a "kind, hilarious, really cheeky, really funny boy" whose memory she wanted to honour by trying to prevent the death of other children by drowning.

She told the BBC the family had lived in Quorn but had now moved to Shepshed because she found it difficult being near the riverbank where Kieran drowned.

"It's numbing," she said.

"You switch on to some kind of autopilot to just get through all the emotions.

"Thankfully I have other children, because they give you a reason to get out of bed in the morning and without them I'd probably still be in a depression pit in my bed right now.

"It's just awful and it's something you live with every day."

Family handout KieranFamily handout
Kieran was rescued from the river and taken to hospital but later pronounced dead

A Department for Education spokesperson said: "New non-statutory PE and sport guidance will be published in the spring that will help primary schools to overcome barriers to teaching swimming and water safety.

"We will continue to work closely with Swim England, The Royal Life Saving Society UK and RNLI to support pupils being taught how to swim and water safety through a number of routes."

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