Father-of-two drowns swimming in Surrey lake on hottest day
A SWIMMER drowned at a country park on the hottest day of the year so far, police said today.
The body of the 31-year-old victim, named as father-of-two Ed Savage, was recovered by divers from a lake at Mercers Country Park near Redhill, Surrey, at 9.20pm last night following a three-hour search.
Mr Savage’s partner, Tracey, who made a tearful visit to the scene today, said: “I’m heartbroken, we have another child on the way. The last thing he said to me was ‘I love you’. We just don’t know how this could have happened. We want a full investigation. People should be careful going into the water like this. Another family shouldn’t suffer.”
Mr Savage, who worked on a fairground, was with a group of friends when he started to struggle.
The main gate to the watersports centre, in an old quarry, was closed today.
A supervisor said: “It’s all very sensitive. We are trying to discover the full circumstances, it’s a shock.” A Surrey police spokesman said the death was not being treated as suspicious.
A resident said: “I’ve often seen kids running in and out and thought that something could happen because it’s so deep. It’s an absolute tragedy.”
A 17-year-old who was swimming nearby and tried to save the victim said: “He was shouting ‘help, help, help’ for about four minutes.”
A search resumed this morning for a 13-year-old boy last seen “in distress” at Westport Lake near Stoke-on-Trent in Staffordshire.