Tributes after mother of three drowns during river rescue bid
A MOTHER-OF-THREE who drowned in a river while trying to help another person in distress was a “great mum”, according to friends and neighbours.
The woman, named locally as Leanne Gordon, was last seen diving into a shallow part of the River Great Ouse, off Honey Hill Road, in Bedford at around 8pm on Thursday.
Police said she had been having a picnic with her children, who were playing by the water.
Thought to be in her 30s, her body was found on Friday morning after assistance from firefighters and specialist divers, Bedfordshire Police said.
Sian Waterston, 25, used to see Ms Gordon on the school run and helped her with her Staffordshire bull terrier. She said: “She was a great mum. It’s absolutely tragic. She always had a smile on her face.”
Neighbour Nigel Spencer, 40, said: “She was always smiling – just a lovely character.”
An emotional Mick Kelly, 57, laid flowers outside Ms Gordon’s house and said: “Why did God take her away from them three children?
“She was a lovely, lovely person and a lovely friend.”
Bedfordshire Police Chief Inspector Nick Lyall said the woman’s three boys had been left “distressed” by the “tragic accident”.
He said: “Three children, they are all between three and 10 years of age, so young children have lost a mother. It is a tragic time for the family.”
Neighbour Joe Vacchio said there were screams of “I can’t swim” before police and a helicopter arrived.
He said Ms Gordon lives around the corner from the river and had been diving into the water off small islands with her three children.
Mr Vacchio said: “The children and their mum were playing in the river. They were diving off into the river.
“There were screams that my wife heard of ‘I can’t swim’ and that was it really. She hasn’t been seen since.”
He added that his wife believed the screams came from the woman.
After police arrived at about 8pm, Mr Vacchio said he saw the three children sitting by the river wrapped in towels. He added that the river was “murky” and had holes up to “20ft deep”.
Mr Lyall said he did not know if the person she went in to rescue was one of her children.
The police were called by another member of the public, he added.