The Mancunian Way: 'It can happen to anyone'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Whenever she sees children playing out in the sun, Vicky Waugh is filled with panic. It's been two years since the 34-year-old lost her only son, Kalen, and the pain still remains.

The 16-year-old drowned after plunging into the water at Salford Quays to cool off during a heatwave. Ever since, Kalen’s devastated mother has been unable to go near water and was too distressed to take balloons to the spot where he died on his birthday. "Two years on, my life is a blur," Vicky said. "I miss him so much and I have not been able to enter his bedroom.

It is just as he left it." On July 16, 2022, Kalen left the house at about 2pm to meet with friends. Vicky says he didn't have any swimwear and didn't mention any plans to swim, so believes it was a spontaneous decision.

She was dyeing her hair when, at 6pm, she got a message to say Kalen was in trouble in the water at Ontario Basin in Salford Quays. "I thought there was a mistake," she says. "I rushed down there, and it was busy, and I was sure it was all a misunderstanding. "But then I got round the corner, and I saw police and ambulances.