Ben Quartermaine: Mother warned son about sea

Vicky Knight said her son Ben Quartermaine could not swim

The mother of a teenager who died after being swept out to sea warned her son not to go "past his belly button" because he could not swim.

Ben Quartermaine, 15, got into difficulty while swimming with a friend near Clacton Pier, Essex, on 26 July.

He was swept out to sea by a current and disappeared for two days before his body was found.

His mother Vicky Knight said more should be done in school to warn children of the dangers of the sea.

"He couldn't swim but the lifeboat said even if he could swim he could still have got into trouble," she added.

"I had always said to him because you can't swim don't go past your belly button."

She said she did not think learning to swim was as important as learning about what to do if you are caught in currents in the sea.

Ben Quartermaine died after being swept out to sea in July

Miss Knight said she last saw her son the day before the accident, when she told him she loved him.

On her way home from work the next day she said she had a "bad feeling" and was met by police at her door who told her what had happened and took her to the pier.

"It was one of the hardest moments of my life going down there," she said.

"I was hoping with all my heart that he had come out of the water and was hiding somewhere but I knew that wasn't the type of boy he was. He would have made sure his friend was okay."

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Miss Knight said the family, who live in Clacton-on-Sea, are preparing for their first Christmas without Ben.

"I am not quite sure how we are going to get through it but I am sure as a family we will. He was the one to put the decorations up," she said.

"There aren't any words to describe how much I miss him, he is my little Boo Bag and I miss him with every breath."

Essex Police said an investigation into an allegation of fraud relating to fundraising in Ben's memory was ongoing.