Heartbreaking tributes have been paid to a 14-year-old boy who died after jumping into a canal 'as a prank' over the Easter weekend.
The teenager, named locally as George Lund, was pronounced dead after he was pulled from a lock on the Aire and Calder Navigation in the Stourton area of Leeds on Saturday afternoon (April 8). George reportedly jumped into the lock on the sunny afternoon but immediately got into difficulties.
West Yorkshire Police said officers were called to the scene along with other emergency services as a major search operation began. He was lifted from the water but declared dead a short while later.
Family and friends took to social media on Monday (April 10) to express their shock at what happened. One wrote “George was a lovely lad” who “will never be forgotten”.
Another said: “He was taken too soon, he was always there for me. Fly high George, you are loved by many" as a third friend wrote: “So sorry for your loss, he was such a lovely kid.”
His grandmother Sam Buckham was among those who laid flowers at the spot on Monday. She said George jumped in the water as a prank thinking he would easily be able to get out. She said he had been trying to get to a ladder which led from the water to the raised towpath, but he was beaten by the current, reports Leeds Live.
The Mirror has reported how George's mum Stacie Leigh Lund left a heartbreaking message paying tribute to her "precious baby boy" as she laid flowers at the lock on the canal.
A West Yorkshire Police spokepserson said: “At 4.32pm on Saturday, police received a concern for safety report for a male in the canal by Thwaite Lane, Leeds.
“Emergency services attended and recovered a teenage male from the water. He received medical attention at the scene, but was sadly pronounced deceased a short time later.
“The death is not being treated as suspicious and a file has been prepared for the coroner.”
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