Mum of son who drowned in same flooded quarry as tragic teen warns of lethal swimming dangers

A mum from Wigan whose son drowned in the same flooded quarry where a teenager tragically died earlier this month has made a heart-breaking plea for people to stay away. Ann Croston's 17-year-old son Craig drowned in the water filled East Quarry in Appley Bridge on September 26, 1999, after going swimming there with friends.

Ann spoke to LancsLive after returning from laying flowers on his grave. The fun loving teen was the first to die in the quarry in 1999 - but his death was tragically followed by that of 13-year-old Miracle Godson, a promising young rugby player, who drowned there in 2015.

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On July 9 this 16-year-old Jamie Lewin, from Southport, was pronounced dead at the same site after getting into difficulty in the water. Ann told how the horrendous news and brought memories of her tragic loss came flooding back. The 62-year-old said: "My stomach just turned - it happens every time as it brings it all back, you just think what are those parents going through; it's every parent's worst nightmare."

Describing how the horrendous day of Craig's death unfolded, she said: "It was a Sunday morning on the 26th of September and he went out with all his friends, and they went to this quarry. Apparently, Craig jumped off one of the ledges, swam the full length of the quarry and got to the other side.

"He climbed up the hill to go back and jumped into the water again, and when he got halfway across, friends said they could see there was something happening, and then he just disappeared from sight." She was alerted of her son's disappearance by a phone call, and rushed straight down with family members to the quarry, to find police divers and specialist