Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
COMMUNITY TO RALLY ROUND KAYDEN FAMILY
£5k raised for funeral of river death boy
A LOCAL community has rallied together to support the family of tragic schoolboy Kayden Fleck.
The five-year-old fell into the River Braid in Ballymena, Co Antrim, at around 1pm on Saturday and was swept four miles downstream.
Emergency services sprang into action, with police helicopters and vehicles launching a massive search operation within minutes.
The Harryville Primary School pupil was pulled from the water and flown by air ambulance to the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children where he died later that day.
Now the community are rallying round the family and have raised more than £5,000 to help give Kayden the “best possible” send-off.
A Justgiving page set up over the weekend states: “Poor Kayden lost his life yesterday in a tragic accident, he was 5 years old, lets help send him off in a way in which he deserves!
“No one should ever have to bury a child never mind a tragic accident like this, lets get together and help this family give him a send off with love from our community.”
On Sunday Kayden’s heartbroken mum and dad paid tribute to their “happy-go-lucky” son.
Darrel and Leanne Fleck said he was “your average wee boy” who “just melted your heart”.
They described Kayden and his twin brother Jayden as the “two musketeers”.
In a statement issued by the PSNI, they stated: “The family want to thank each of the agencies who were involved in the search and rescue operation yesterday, and say they are grateful for the community support they have received since.”
Kayden’s school said it would be open from noon until 6pm today to allow anyone from Harryville, Ballykeel and wider areas to come and sign a book of condolence for the pupil and his family.
There will also be a donation box and tea/coffee available.