Service held for boy swept out to sea

A small white coffin carried the body of Eryk Cieraszewski, who was swept into the Firth of Forth by a wave when he was on the esplanade at Kirkcaldy in Fife.

The boy’s mother, Jadwiga Cieraszewski, carried a picture of her son and wept as a priest said Eryk had gone to live “with the angels”.

His father Slawek kept his composure as he read The Lord’s My Shepherd in Polish, reducing many in the congregation to tears. Mr Slawek thanked mourners who had turned out on a cold grey day to say goodbye to the boy who died while enjoying a day out with his family.

Father Edward Wanat said the accident, which happened on 12 November and was witnessed by scores of people on the seafront, had left people in the town feeling shocked. “Something inside us is screaming this can’t be true, this can’t be happening,” he said.

Eryk had been playing on the seafront just yards away from his mother and his six-year-old sister on a blustery day when a giant wave crashed on to the promenade and dragged him through a gap in the sea wall.

His mother, who had been taking photographs, watched helplessly as he was tossed on the waves.

The Kinghorn Lifeboat arrived in minutes and fire officers waded into the sea, but rescuers were unable to pull him from the waves in time to save him. Ambulance crews tried in vain to resuscitate Eryk, but he died shortly afterwards at Victoria Hospital.

Members of the lifeboat crew were among those who came to mourn Eryk, who had only recently moved to Kirkcaldy with his mother and sister.

The service was also attended by well-wishers from the town as well as members of Polish community, the Fife Fire and Rescue Service, the health service and Fife Constabulary.

Children from St Andrew’s High School, Kirkcaldy, were there to represent children from the town’s North Primary School, who were too young to attend themselves. Eryk had started at the primary school in August after turning three.

Father Wanat said Eryk would not be forgotten: “He was baby, a three-year-old boy. He is beautiful, but he is not to reach his rightful fulfilment.

“It is hard to speak when it is your heart that speaks. This silence is not empty, but you fill it with love.

“I believe this loss saddens God as well. There is a special place in God’s house with the angels for all his little ones.”

He said the accident had shocked people in the town and that there was a great wish among the community to support the family.

“We are all asking: ‘How could this happen? Why could this happen?’ Everyone in the community is asking this. But we are not here to answer those questions, even if we could. We are here to commend Eryk to God.”

Father Wanat read from St Matthew’s Gospel. A simple floral tribute of white roses in the shape of a cross was placed on Eryk’s coffin, and several mourners carried single white roses tied with blue ribbons.

After the service, Mr Cieraszewski, 34, took time to thank all those who had come to pay their respects to his son. He said: “It has been a very hard time for me. I’m glad so many people could come and pay tribute to Eryk.”

Eryk’s mother, who separated from her children’s father shortly before her move to the town, said in a statement issued after the accident: “Eryk will be sadly missed by all the family. We will never forget him.”

Earlier this week, it was reported that she was “overwhelmed” by the support she had received from local people.