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Touching tribute paid to ‘promising’ teenager who drowned in a quarry

Daisy Jackson Daisy Jackson - 13th July 2022

A family have paid tribute to their 16-year-old son who tragically died after getting into difficulty swimming in a quarry.

Jamie Lewin, from Southport, was a promising young boxer who ‘had so much to look forward to’, his mum has said.

Steph Lewin described her son as ‘one in a million’ in a heartbreaking tribute issued through Lancashire Police.

Emergency services were scrambled to the quarry Dawber Delph in Appley Bridge, on the outskirts of Wigan, at around 9.40pm on Saturday 9 July.

There were reports that a boy had entered the water and got into difficulty.

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Following a search, the body of a 16-year-old was recovered and sadly pronounced dead at the scene. He was later identified as Jamie Lewin.

The tribute from his mother said: “Jamie was a promising boxer who loved life and had so much to look forward to. He was so loved by everyone.

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“He touched so many peoples’ lives in such a short time, he really did spread himself far. He really was one in a million.

Read more: North West Ambulance Service moves to highest alert level under ‘extreme pressure’

“I’m so happy I was his mum. He was only 16 and so full of life and so happy.”

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The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be passed to the coroner in due course.

Two other teenage boys have died at the same site, in 2015 and 1999.

Young people are still flocking to swim in the dangerous waters in the warm weather, Lancs Live reports, with many local residents calling for the disused quarry to be drained or filled in.

There are warnings not to swim in quarries as the water can often be extremely deep and cold, with steep sides that make it hard to climb out.

Featured image: Lancashire Police