Warning of 'terrible attraction' of cooling dip as boy drowns in loch

THE family of a teenager who died while diving in a loch during the weekend heatwave have paid tribute to their "lovely boy".

Patrick Phillips died after getting into difficulty at a loch in West Dunbartonshire on Sunday evening as temperatures soared across the country.

With the mercury reaching 24C in parts of the nation yesterday - a high for 2011 - civic leaders warned of the "terrible attraction" water appears to hold for young people and reiterated safety calls in the wake of Patrick's death.

Patrick, 15, from Faifley, Clydebank, had told his family he was going to the cinema, but instead headed to to the isolated Cochno Loch north of Duntocher, where he got into difficulty at about 4:35pm.

His adopted family yesterday made an emotional pilgrimage to the scene of his death.

His father, Charles Edwards, 61, said: "He was a lovely boy with lots of friends. There aren't enough words to describe how I feel about him, we miss him dearly."

Mr Edwards, originally from British Guyana, adopted Patrick when he was three months old. He and his wife, Donna, and their sons, Kevin, 26, and Quancy, 29, and daughter, Kimola, 24, laid flowers and a chocolate chip muffin at the loch's jetty.

Tributes on the flowers read: "I love you so much, I'll miss you for the rest of my life, love Big bro and Hazel." Another read: "To Patrick from mum and dad, brother and sister. God blessing, rest in peace." A final bouquet from the whole family read: "To Patrick, from the entire family, Love you and miss you, RIP."

A search and rescue operation involving Strathclyde Police, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, and the Royal Navy was launched after a friend of the Clydebank High pupil raised the alarm.

A navy search and rescue helicopter was scrambled from HMS Gannet in Prestwick, along with a police helicopter, three fire engines and a fire rescue boat. The youngster's body was pulled from the water at about 6:25pm.

Police said there were no suspicious circumstances, and a full report would be sent to the procurator-fiscal.

While the recent warm spell is set to be replaced by heavy showers over the coming days, there are fears that other youngsters will look to cool off in unsafe waters once the good weather returns.

Just five days before Patrick's death, Robert Lawson, 23, drowned while swimming in Kirkleegreen reservoir near Lochwinnoch.

Describing the teen's death as a "tragedy," Dennis Agnew, provost of West Dunbartonshire Council, said: "Unfortunately, water has a terrible attraction for young people. They do not really think about the danger. We need to get the safety message across." Strathclyde Fire and Rescue said people wanting a dip should use swimming pools or beaches patrolled by lifeguards.

A spokesman said: "Following these tragic deaths, we advise the public to take extreme care in and around canals, ponds, rivers, reservoirs and lochs during the summer holiday period, as there are hidden dangers that make some waterways unsuitable and unsafe for swimming."

Temperatures were highest yesterday in the central Highlands, reaching 24C in Inverness and 23C in Aviemore.

It was fine and dry throughout the rest of the nation, with temperatures of 22C in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

But conditions are expected to worsen considerably today, with a mix of sunshine and showers forecast for the rest of the week and leading into the weekend.