The devastated mum of tragic schoolgirl Ava Gray has made an emotional plea to parents as she opened up on her heartache ahead of the second anniversary of her death.
Leanne Rae is urging them to drill the dangers of water into their kids almost two years since her 12-year-old daughter lost her life in the River Leven at Balloch.
The Lennox Primary pupil, who Leanne described as “the most amazing, kind-hearted wee girl”, tragically died on August 9, 2020 after getting into difficulty in the water with two of her friends.
The 35-year-old mum spoke to the Lennox Herald from her home in Northfield Drive after we last week revealed how the family’s tireless campaigning has seen every secondary pupil in West Dunbartonshire receive water safety training.
As a legacy to the talented dancer, the model used – which was a joint partnership between West Dunbartonshire Council, Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service – has been so successful it will be rolled out across the country.
The ‘Partnership Approach to Water Safety’ group – PAWS – set up last year has seen a number of measures, including new life rings and improved signage.
Leanne, also mum to Taylor, 16, and Jayden, 10, told how the major move is down to the dedicated work of her sister Jamie Gillies, who last year lobbied the First Minister to take national action to prevent future tragedies.
Speaking out for the first time, she said: “I know Ava would like to know she has left something behind and this is her legacy.
“If Ava could leave anything behind, it would be to warn other children that what happened to her could happen to them.
“It would also be to tell parents that your children aren’t invincible. Make sure you know where they are.
“They are going to push boundaries and you will never imagine something like this is going to happen to you but it can. It happened to me.
“When Jamie did interviews after it happened I said I didn’t want to be involved as I didn’t think it would make a difference.
“But then I thought, maybe if we keep on saying it, people will start to listen.
“Jamie has hounded the authorities since.
“She started at the bottom and if they didn’t listen she would keep taking it higher and higher.
“Now they are finally listening.”
Leanne is determined to keep Ava’s memory alive by continuing to raise awareness while paying touching tributes to her.
Outside her home is a pink bench in Ava’s memory, while pictures and tributes to the talented dancer serve as a reminder of how loved she was.
“Ava wasn’t just my daughter, she was my best pal,” Leanne continued.
“She used to lie at the bottom of my bed and we would lie for hours talking away about everything.
“People say you’re a mum first and I get that but your kids grow up not just to be your kids. They grow up and be your best friends.
“With Ava, we always had that bond.
“She was a happy wee lassie. “She loved life and she used to always say ‘I’m here for a good time, not a long time’.
“For being so young, she was very smart, not just booksmart, but streetsmart.
“She was funny. She would do your nut in but then she would do the stupidest of things and two minutes later you would be laughing and all would be forgotten.
“She was the most amazing, kind hearted wee girl. She was thoughtful and talented.
“Her dancing showed that. She had been competing for a year-and-a-half in freestyle dancing and in that time had 21 trophies, with 15 from competitions.
“I was really proud of her. I would give her my last money just to pay for a week in dancing because it’s what she loved.
“It made her happy so it made me happy.”
Ava was a star pupil at Full Out Studios in Dumbarton and was enjoying the summer holidays, while looking forward to starting at the Vale of Leven Academy after the break.
Leanne told that every time she hears a helicopter overhead, it is a painful reminder of the tragic events of Sunday August 9, 2020.
A year after Ava’s death, 16-year-old Connor Markward lost his life in Loch Lomond and one day later, Edina Olahova, 29, and her nine-year-old son Rana Haris Ali, died alongside their friend Mohammad Asim Raza, 41, close to Pulpit Rock at Ardlui.
“I am dreading the summer already and the anxiety I get the minute I hear a helicopter,” Leanne said.
“Last year was awful as there were so many deaths in the loch and it just shows that it can happen to people of any age.
“Some people have blamed me for what happened and said parents should know what their weans are doing but I knew where Ava was.
“Ava was fearless. There’s a tree outside my sister’s place which must be two houses high and Ava climbed to the top of it with no shoes on. I remember shouting at her to get down.
“That’s just who she was.
“She was a really good swimmer but with the strong currents, it doesn’t matter how good of a swimmer you are.
“Sometimes I ask myself ‘was I hard enough’? ‘Did I say enough’? But I did. We always knew the waters weren’t safe.
“I didn’t know that was the part of water she had got in.
“She used to always say she would only dip her toes in.
“She had never been in that bit before.”
Leanne received a phone call no parent should receive on the afternoon of the warm summer’s day, telling her Ava was missing.
She said: “I got a call from her friend’s mum to say they were jumping in the water and they couldn’t find Ava.
“From that moment I just knew.
“We rushed down and it was the longest and worst three hours of my life as I knew what the outcome would be, as she had been in the water for so long, but had to wait to be told.”
