David Ejimofor: Parents devastated at son's beach tragedy death

The heartbroken parents of a teenager who died after jumping from a pier have spoken of their devastation.

David Ejimofor died at Aberavon beach, Neath Port Talbot, on 19 June in what his family believed was a "coming of age ceremony" after exams.

Dad Alex Ejimofor said on Thursday that: "There is a hole that cannot be filled."

An inquest, opened on Thursday, heard the cause of the 15-year-old's death had yet to established.

Alex Ejimofor and Maria Ejimofor have been left heartbroken by their son's death

His mother, Maria Ejimofor, said she had been left "very devastated, really hurt that it happened to us".

She recalled David went to the beach with friends to celebrate finishing his GCSEs.

She said: "By three o'clock we had a phone call that something had happened by the beach. It was David.

"Then we rushed down there to see what's happening. There were ambulances, many people by the beach, the police."

It was, she said, "horrific".

David's mother says she does not want any other parents to go through what they have

Their "beloved" son was a talented rugby player and runner, his parents said, who loved spending time with family and friends.

Mr Ejimofor said he was an "inspiration to his friends and a big loss to us."

He called it "shocking" teens were jumping from the pier.

The couple now want increased safety measures at the beach.

"One life is very important," Mr Ejimofor said.

Mrs Ejimofor added: "No parents will go through what we're going through now."

She believed children should be taught how to swim from an early age.

A petition for better safety measures has so far been signed by 45,000 people, Mrs Ejimofor said.

"We cherish his memory in our heart," she said.

"He had done so much for the age he is."

David enjoyed sport and seeing his friends and family

An inquest, opened on Thursday, heard David was likely to have drowned at Aberavon beach, Neath Port Talbot, on 19 June.

The hearing into the teen's death, described by St Joseph's Catholic School as an "exemplary pupil", has been adjourned until 7 December. 

Senior coroners officer Gareth Heatley told the court at the Guildhall, Swansea, there were no suspicious circumstances and South Wales Police was continuing its investigation.