Mother's water safety warning after teenage son drowned in 'ferocious' whirlpool

A mother whose son drowned in a river has made it her life's mission to raise awareness of the dangers of water.

Debbie Turnbull’s son Christopher was a strong swimmer, but on the day he went to Capel Curig to swim with three friends in August 2006 the waters were swollen following heavy rain.

When Christopher, then aged 15, fell into a whirlpool below he went into cold water shock which caused a heart attack before he drowned.

Recalling the day the tragedy happened, Debbie said it started as any normal summer day when Christopher went with five friends to Cyfyng Falls on the Afon Llugwy in Capel Curig.

It had been hot that summer with hardly any rain, but it had “bucketed down” a few days before creating heavy water falls.

“There was a massive waterfall and they walked upstream. Chris sat on a ledge about 20 to 30ft up. The waterfalls come down from the mountains in three areas and meet at a point where there’s a whirlpool called “the boil”. It is ferocious. Deadly. It was even worse that day,” recalls Debbie.

“Chris’s mates were filming from the bridge above. He looked up and put his thumb up and then just jumped or slipped. I think he was looking around and then when he felt himself slip he jumped.

“He ended up in the water and sucked under. His best friend tried to save him and jumped in to rescue him but then had to rescue himself. Chris was sucked into the whirlpool and was forced back under the waterfall where his foot stuck in the roots of a tree above.

"He was used to being there and was a strong swimmer but there was not usually a waterfall. They usually swam and had a wonderful time. It is a beautiful place but deadly after it’s been raining.”

Although his friends had mobile phones there was no signal to call for help. When one ran to a phone box he found it was vandalised. Rushing to a house to seek help there the occupier thought he was joking and shut the door on him.

The first Debbie knew was when her husband John came home just after 4pm and had heard on the radio news that a boy had drowned at Capel Curig.

"I know it's him," he said.

Moments later the police knocked on their door.

Divers retrieved Christopher’s body seven hours after he had plunged into the river.

'Nearly every drowning is avoidable'

Within weeks of Christopher drowning, Debbie went to his school Ysgol Eiras to talk to pupils and raise funds for Ogwen Valley Mountain rescue who recovered his body.

Since then she has spoken to more than 510,000 children and teenagers across Wales and Britain about water safety through the non-profit organisation she set up - River And Sea Sense (RASS).

“When I hear about a drowning I go numb", said Debbie.

"It is very hard because nearly every drowning is avoidable. When I speak to people about water safety I don’t put fear into people, I just give them the facts.

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"I'm not trying to scare people. Having fun in water is a wonderful thing, it's about being aware."

Her work campaigning for water safety has seen Debbie win a National Lottery Achievement Award and a Points of Light Award from UK Government. RASS has received recognition from emergency services across the UK and beyond.

'Just because you can swim doesn’t mean you are safe'

“Chris learned to swim when he was three. He was a good swimmer and as strong as an ox, but just because you can swim doesn’t mean you are safe,” Debbie warned.

“I try not to put fear into people, I try to give them the facts. Cold water shock is what most people drown from, when you hit the water. Chris had a heart attack from cold water shock. The river was 3-5C that day.”

Debbie says she hopes Christoper's death is not in vain, and says his legacy is saving lives through her ongoing campaign.