Mother's heartbreaking appeal five years on from son's tragic death in the River Wear

Cameron Gosling died from cold water shock after jumping into the River Wear near Bishop Auckland, on July 5, 2015.

The Crook teenager’s family has joined with the Safe Durham Partnership as part of its Dying to be Cool campaign, in urging young people not to go into rivers or any other open water without acclimatising.

Cameron's mum, Fiona Gosling, said: "It is difficult to believe it has been five years since we lost Cameron - I still remember that day so vividly.

"There will always be a hole in our family because we have lost Cameron and not a day has passed without us thinking of and talking about him.

"We miss him so much and the pain we still live with five years on could have been prevented if we had known about cold water shock and he had not jumped in.

"On behalf of our family, we would beg every young person thinking about going swimming in a river or lake this summer to go into the water slowly to let your body acclimatise.

"Please don't jump in - you might never go home and your family's lives will be turned upside down forever."

The Dying to be Cool campaign, led by Durham County Council, aims to make 10 to 16 year olds and their loved ones aware of the dangers of jumping into cold water.

In previous years, representatives from the council and County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service have gone into secondary schools to deliver assemblies on cold water shock.

The coronavirus pandemic has prevented this, so as an alternative all schools have been provided with footage of last year’s assembly to show to students.

Coun Lucy Hovvels MBE, cabinet member for community safety, said: "Our simple message would be to remember what happened to Cameron and to make sure they acclimatise if going into the water, to guarantee they get home safely and that their families do not have to suffer."

For details on cold water shock click here.

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