Lotus Bowker: Boy, 15, who died in river was 'lovely boy'
"I wouldn't wish this on anyone. Those waters aren't meant to be swam in," he said."I want any individuals and especially youngsters to think twice before visiting these dangerous locations regardless of social pressures or feeling the need to be included."
Lancashire Police said the teenager's death was not being treated as in any way suspicious.Det Insp Adie Knowles said: "First and foremost my thoughts remain with Lotus's loved ones at this incredibly difficult time."They have lost a son and brother in the most tragic of circumstances and I just want to echo David's words around water safety. "I'd just ask that people think twice before going into rivers, reservoirs or any form of open water. "You are unnecessarily putting your lives at risk, and I really don't want to have to knock on your parents door to tell them that you won't be coming home."
Listen to the best of BBC Radio Lancashire on BBC Sounds and follow BBC Lancashire on Facebook, X and Instagram and watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
26 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Constance Marten launches appeal against conviction for killing baby daughter
Constance Marten will attempt to appeal against her conviction for killing her baby daughter Victoria. The 38-year-old aristocrat and her partner Mark Gordon, 51, were found guilty of the gross negligence manslaughter of the baby at the Old Bailey last month after a retrial. Marten has now applied to appeal against the conviction at the Court of Appeal, according to the BBC. The couple went on the run with the baby after Marten gave birth in secret in December 2022, and slept rough in freezing temperatures in January 2023. Victoria was found dead, hidden in an allotment shed, two months later. A previous application by Marten to appeal against a conviction of cruelty to a child from her first trial was rejected in February. Her four other children whom she shared with Gordon, a convicted rapist, were previously taken into care and put up for adoption. The couple went off-grid in the lead up to baby Victoria's birth in a bid to keep her from being put up for adoption. They became the subject of a manhunt when their burnt-out car was discovered on the M62 near Bolton, in Lancashire. Police found a placenta in the vehicle and realised that Marten had given birth in secret. The baby died while she and her parents were sleeping rough in a freezing-cold tent on the South Downs. Marten and Gordon were eventually arrested in Brighton at 9.35pm on Feb 27 2023 on suspicion of child neglect, but Victoria was not with them. The couple refused to tell police where she was, but on March 1, following a huge search of the areas where the couple had been sleeping, her body was found in a disused shed. It is unknown how Victoria died. The prosecution alleged that she died from hypothermia or was smothered while co-sleeping in the 'flimsy' tent. Marten maintained in court that the baby died by accident when she fell asleep while holding her. Marten and Gordon will be sentenced on Sept 15.
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour's migrant hotels policy is in disarray: Asylum seekers are stunned as Epping Council wins legal battle to move them out
Labour 's asylum policy was left in chaos after a judge ordered a controversial migrant hotel to shut. The High Court ruling gives The Bell Hotel in Epping, Essex, just 24 days to close after it became the focus of violent protests. Epping Forest District Council's victory could open the floodgates to a series of similar legal actions against other migrant hotels across the country. Ministers scrambled to respond after an 11th-hour Home Office bid to block the action was thrown out. Government lawyers warned the court that granting the injunction on a planning technicality 'runs the risk of acting as an impetus for further violent protests'. Intensifying the pressure on Labour, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage said he hoped it gave 'inspiration to others across the country'. Some 32,000 migrants are in about 210 hotels, according to the Home Office, and discontent is building. The injunction left Sir Keir Starmer in an even more woeful position after he scrapped the Tory government's Rwanda asylum deal, in which illegal migrants would have been sent on a one-way ticket to East Africa. The Prime Minister's pledge to 'smash the gangs' was already in tatters, with more than 51,000 small-boat migrants having reached Britain since the election. The legal challenge to The Bell was brought by the local council after a small-boat migrant there was accused of sexual offences. Hadush Kebatu, from Ethiopia, was charged last month with sexual assault, harassment and inciting a girl of 14 to engage in sexual activity. Eight days after he arrived in the UK, Kebatu, 41, allegedly tried to kiss a schoolgirl as she ate pizza, and the next day tried to kiss a woman in the town and put his hand on her leg. He then encountered the girl again and tried to kiss her, Colchester Magistrates' Court was told. Kebatu denies the offences and is in custody. Protesters descended on the hotel following news of his arrest and court appearance, leading to violent scuffles between those opposed to the migrant hotel and 'anti-racism' demonstrators. Recent protests against the hotel have mainly been peaceful, with a group of women nicknamed the 'Pink Ladies' leading marches. Mohammed Sharwarq, 32, a Syrian at the 80-bed hotel, has been charged with seven offences, including kissing a man on the neck on July 25. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch said the injunction was 'a victory for the mums and dads in Epping who just want their children to be safe'. She added: ' Putting a hotel full of young, male illegal immigrants in the middle of a community like Epping was always going to lead to issues. They need to be moved immediately. 'But Epping is just one of many towns struggling with asylum hotels. 'Labour have no solution, they're not smashing any gangs and small-boat arrivals are at record highs.' Mr Farage said: 'This community stood up bravely, despite being slandered as far-Right, and have won. 'Young, undocumented males who break into the UK illegally should not be free to walk the streets. They must be detained and deported.' Corina Gander, Tory leader of Broxbourne Borough Council in Hertfordshire, said she was considering similar action. She added: 'It's just given us this massive boost and precedent that we can do something now.' The 12 councils in which Reform UK is the largest party are also said to be exploring the prospect. The legal action was the first to succeed in getting a migrant hotel shut down. Epping Forest council was granted a temporary injunction by Mr Justice Eyre at the High Court in London after arguing that The Bell's owners, Somani Hotels, broke planning rules by changing its use to house migrants. The judge said the firm had 'sidestepped public scrutiny and explanation', writing in his judgement: 'Although the defendant's actions were not flagrant or surreptitious they were deliberate. 'The defendant acted in good faith but chose to take its stand on the position that there was no material change of use.' Home Office lawyers who claimed The Bell's closure would breach asylum seekers' 'fundamental human rights' failed to block the legal challenge. A hearing on a permanent injunction will take place later. Speaking at the Royal Courts of Justice after the ruling, Epping Forest council leader Chris Whitbread said: 'This is a decision that's important to Epping Forest, but also important to councils up and down the country, and it shows that the Government cannot ignore planning rules.' Welcoming the 'fantastic news', Sarah White, 40, one of the protest leaders, said: 'We will start protesting with towns up and down the country. This is bigger than Epping, it is impacting the whole country.' Home Office minister Dame Angela Eagle said the Government would consider the ruling, and would close all asylum hotels by the end of this parliament.'
Daily Mail
26 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Top bosses have told police officers 'no DANCING' at Notting Hill Carnival as 7,000 are bracing for carnage
Police have been banned from dancing at Notting Hill Carnival as 7,000 officers and staff are bracing for potential carnage this weekend. The Metropolitan police have said they believe grooving to the music could distract or slow down their officers from responding to outbreaks of crime. The growing popularity of Europe's biggest street party which celebrates Caribbean heritage, arts and culture has become a big problem for Scotland Yard. Last year, carnival arrests hit their highest level since 2019 as 349 people were detained including for violence, theft, sexual offences and assaults on police. The Met confirmed the dancing ban to The Guardian and in a statement said: 'Carnival is an iconic and spectacular event which attracts hundreds of thousands of people every year to party and celebrate Caribbean culture. 'But it is also an event where there have been numerous concerns about crowd safety and crime. As a consequence, almost 7,000 officers will be deployed to this year's event. They are there to keep revellers safe, not to join in the revelling. 'We want officers to positively engage with the carnivalgoers while staying vigilant at all times and remaining able to respond and intervene swiftly as necessary. They can't do this if they are dancing. 'The standards of behaviour expected as part of the policing operation will be communicated clearly before the event, just as they have been in recent years.' Amid escalating levels of violence Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, police commander for this year's event, said the carnival's size creates 'unique challenges'. The Met has faced increasing pressure to ensure the safety of revellers after Cher Maximen, 32, was stabbed to death by Shakeil Thibou, 20, in front of her three-year-old daughter last year; while chef Mussie Imnetu, 41, was murdered in the street. The annual celebration has been running since 1966, and arrest totals have been on a rising curve since the start of the millennium when they stood at 158 in 2002. The total over the past 20 years between 2005 and 2024 is now well over the 5,000 mark. This year, police want to identify 'violent gangs' planning to attend and urged anyone with information of individuals intending to engage in violence to come forward. A series of 31 anti-terror concrete barriers were installed on Portobello Road last month by Kensington and Chelsea Council to help deter vehicle attacks in the popular market area of Notting Hill following counter-terrorism guidance issued by the Met. But the council said these 'hostile vehicle mitigation measures' will be removed for two weeks from today to ensure 'people can move freely and safely during the event'. Susan Hall, a Conservative member of the London Assembly, said in a bombshell report published earlier this month that the carnival in recent years had only narrowly 'avoided a mass crush on the scale of the Hillsborough disaster'. London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has warned of the risk of a 'crowd crush' at the carnival, saying at a meeting last month that he had 'seen images of some of the crowds at some parts' of the event and 'watching them made me frightened'.
