'I never thought my son would die before me - this is my warning to other parents'

A mum whose 16-year-old son died while swimming with friends on a hot summer day says she hopes others will learn from the tragedy. An inquest in Bolton concluded Kalen Waugh's death was a case of 'misadventure'.

A year on from his death, his mum Vicky has revealed she still cannot enter his bedroom and has pleaded for other children to stay away from open water. Kalen drowned after getting into difficulty in very cold water at Ontario Basin at Salford Quays last July.

Despite attempts to rescue him by friends and a member of the public who entered the water, he vanished under the water. His body was traced by fire crews using cameras a short time later. But Vicky had to wait overnight until her son's body was recovered and his death was confirmed.

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A few weeks later, she collected Kalen's GCSEs, which had secured him his dream place at college to study construction. Vicky, 33, said: "Kalen was my only son, I was a single mum and so we were inseparable. We did everything together. My recurring worry was how he'd cope if anything ever happened to me. Not for a moment did I think he would die first.

"He wasn't even planning to swim that day, but he was a strong swimmer and a fit young lad. If it can happen to him, it can happen to anyone. There were reports of him going under the surface, but his body was not recovered until early the following morning. I spent the night convincing myself it wasn't true, and hoping he would just walk through the door.

"It was torture. Even now, almost a year on, my life is a blur. I miss him so much and I have not been able to enter his bedroom. It is just as he left it. I just hope Kalen's legacy can be to