Grieving mother's safety promise

Christopher Turnbull's body was recovered after a six-hour search

The mother of a 15-year-old boy who drowned in a river in Snowdonia in August has pledged to do everything she can to prevent a similar tragedy.

Debbie Turnbull said her campaign to educate children about safety near water was giving her a focus in the grief at losing her son Christopher.

Mrs Turnbull will begin her campaign on Friday, speaking to pupils at her son's former school in Colwyn Bay.

Funds are also being raised to buy equipment for local rescue teams.

Christopher Turnbull, also known as "Debs", was with a group of six friends when he fell into the water at Cyfyng Falls near Capel Curig.

His body was recovered following a six-hour search.

Water can look very innocent but is very dangerous and rarely do you get a second chance Chris Lloyd, Ogwen Valley Mountain Rescue

Mrs Turnbull said: "I've been ringing around local schools and I want to go and have a chat with the children about the danger of water.

"We need better signs, and better education about these dangers."

Danger spot

"Doing this is giving me something to focus on. It gives me a reason to get up in the morning, its the only thing keeping me going," she added.

Mrs Turnbull said they aimed to raise enough money to cover the cost of a raft for the Ogwen Valley mountain rescue team.

"But it will be an ongoing campaign and after we've raised funds for Ogwen Valley we will move on to other rescue organisations who all helped us so much," she said.

There are plans to set up a website to support the Chris-Debs Turnbull Memorial Foundation.

Already £1,000 has been collected, with another £2,000 pledged.

Chris Lloyd from the Ogwen Valley team said they were thrilled with the offer to buy a raft for river rescue as the team did not have one at present.

The area where the accident happened was a known danger spot, said Mr Lloyd, and he personally remembered three fatalities there.

He said the team were fully behind Mrs Turnbull's idea of educating youngsters about the danger of water.

"Education is important as water can look very innocent but is very dangerous and rarely do you get a second chance," he said.