Saltford Weir boy's river death an 'avoidable tragedy'

The body of the boy was pulled from the water at Saltford Weir on Tuesday by police diving teams

A teenager's death in the River Avon was an "avoidable tragedy", according to a man who recently rescued another boy from the same weir at Saltford.

Martin Usher, from Bath, said the current in the weir was "incredibly strong" and he was surprised at the lack of warning signs near the water.

On Tuesday, Aaron Burgess, 14, got into difficulty in the water and his body was later recovered by diving teams.

Mr Usher is now calling for better safety measures beside the weir.

'Struggling'

He said the rescue he was involved in happened eight weeks ago whilst he was having a meal nearby.

"We heard some shouting coming from the middle of the weir, when we looked over there was a young fella who was struggling," he said.

"A friend of his had jumped and was making her way out to him. I thought there was no way she was going to cope on her own, so I went in. We managed to get him in."

Flowers and tributes to Aaron Burgess were left nearby

He believes "large signs" are needed as well as flotation devices.

The waterway manager at the Canal & River Trust, Mark Stephens, said safety equipment had been installed at points along the river.

"At this location railings are in place on the lock island, adjacent to the weir, to discourage swimming and we have staff going to the site to review whether to put in any additional measures," he said.

"It is tragic to hear about the death of this young man and our thoughts go to his family and friends."

BBC Radio Bristol reporter Andy Howard said there did not appear to be any life-rings or life-jackets by the weir, or anything that could be thrown into the water to help a person in trouble.

Types of risk

David Walker, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), said weirs could present different types of risks.

"Weirs are quite hard sometimes to understand because quite often you have still water above, and moving water below," he said.

"Placement of life-rings is not mandatory, so it's not something that you have to do by law.

"But what the landowner has to do is actually look at a stretch of river and say 'what are the issues arising from this and what can I do best about that'."

Aaron's father Jay Burgess visited the site where his son's friends had been gathered

The father of Aaron, Jay Burgess, visited the scene on Wednesday and chatted with Aaron's friends before looking at the cards and flowers that were left for his son.

He said he was too upset to talk but wanted to thank everyone for their support.

A message placed by the weir by Mr Burgess earlier read: "My beautiful 1st born son, always acting the fool, chip off the old block, missing you loads, see you when I get there, Dad x"