THE mother of “selfless hero” Callum Baker-Osborne who drowned while saving his family in difficulty at Rockley Park said “it is going to happen again” if more safety measures are not introduced.
Callum was found in the water at Lake Pier in Hamworthy on the morning of Friday, July 30, four days after heroically saving his family from drowning in the water at Rockley Park.
Seven months on, the 18-year-old’s mother Ann Marie said it would happen again if people weren’t warned it is a beach you can’t take children to.
She said: “It is not a safe beach or a social beach, it’s for sports equipment. There’s no lifeguards, no warnings of the dangers, we were unaware. The water was calm, it was a nice day, we didn’t expect anything and all of a sudden, the water dragged us out.
“There was nobody there to help, no equipment, no phone, it was an accident waiting to happen.”
Ann Marie said the family are still waiting for the inquest and death certificates for Callum, and they are preparing to visit the area again this summer to mark the anniversary of his death.
She continued: “I think something should be put in place telling people thinking of going there it is not a beach to be paddled in.
“It is going to happen again if they do not prepare people, there needs to be more warning that it is actually a beach that you can’t take children.
“Callum is our hero. At the end of the day, he was a strong swimmer. Callum saved his family, if it had been somebody else’s child, he still would have done it.
“I still find it hard, thinking he is not going to come home. I am still waiting for him to come through the door. We just get through the days, we still find it hard, it is not fair.”
A spokesperson for Haven, who operate Rockley Park, said: “At Haven, the safety and security of our guests is our number one priority and we are always looking at ways to improve the safety measures we have in place at our parks. In light of the review of Rockley Point by the RNLI, which was commissioned by BCP Council who own the beach, we have introduced additional safety measures and continue to provide water safety information in our pre-arrival information to all guests.”
A BCP Council spokesman said: “Following the incident, we asked the RNLI to conduct a beach safety assessment which they have completed and we are continuing to work with the RNLI and Haven to improve signage informing visitors about safety.”
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