Boy's death 'brings it all back' for mum of Robert Hattersley, 13, who died in River Tyne

Northumberland Correspondent Tom Barton visited the stretch of river where two teenagers have lost their lives in less than two years

The mother of a 13-year-old who drowned in the River Tyne says the memories of her son's death were brought back after another teenager lost his life in the water.

Stella Hattersley's son Robert, from Crawcrook, died after getting into trouble in the River Tyne at Ovingham on 17 July 2022.

On Saturday (18 Ma)y, a 14-year-old boy died in the same area while a 13-year-old boy is in a critical condition after getting into difficulty.

In an emotional interview with ITV Tyne Tees, Stella said: "It's very very hard, it just feels like it brings it all back again. Robert had such a a full life ahead of him.

"He told us that he was going to play football and we didn't know he was going down to the river that day."

Robert's father Carl added: "We know what it's like, it's a horrible thing to go through. It's a very sad thing that's happened to their son in the same way, so it is very hard to process it and very upsetting."

Dozens of members of the emergency services were at the scene near Ovingham on Saturday.

It followed a report to police of concern for the welfare of two teenage boys who had got into difficulty in the water near the bridge at Ovingham shortly after 3.30pm.

One of the boys, aged 13, was rescued from the water and taken to hospital.

A number of organisations carried out a search of the area in a bid to locate the second boy, who was later found in the water and who died at the scene.

Councillor Angie Scott has lived in the area all her life and is passionate about promoting water safety along the Tyne.

"It's terrible that Robert Hattersley lost his life a couple of years ago," said Cllr Scott.

"To wake up this morning (19 May) to find out another young person has lost their life, we need to do more. We need to speak to our young children about the risks of swimming in rivers."

Northumbria Police Chief Superintendent Helena Barron 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.”

Two Swift Water Rescue units from Pegswood, an appliance from Prudhoe and a number of senior officers were on scene from Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service.

Working alongside the fire and rescue teams were the Great North Air Ambulance who sent a rapid response vehicle.

In a statement the service also told ITV Tyne Tees that a doctor-led team accompanied a patient to hospital in conjunction with the ambulance service.

It said: "We were activated to an incident in Northumberland at 15.40pm. Our Doctor-led team drove to the incident via Rapid Response Vehicle and arrived on scene at 16.24.

"They worked with the North East Ambulance Service to treat a patient before accompanying them to hospital."

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