Eleven-year-old Mackenzie Swift was one of the 19 victims of drowning during the last ‘catastrophic’ heatwave. Here his mum and dad speak to the Mirror as they try and save other children.

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The parents of Mackenzie Swift are pleading with other children to stay out of open water

A heartbroken mum and dad said the “bottom of our world fell out” after their little boy drowned in the last ‘catastrophic’ heatwave. Michael Swift and Suzie Gough have broken their silence to urge families to avoid the open water after their 11-year-old ‘little rock’ and ‘sensitive soul’ died.

They told the Mirror, never in their wildest dreams did they think Mackenzie, would ever go anywhere near a river. But during the last blistering heatwave Mackenzie, known as ‘Kenzie,’ stopped playing outside his home and cycled with a pal to a river just a mile away.

He dropped his bike on a little area called ‘Pebble Beach,’ took his shoes and top off and went into the water despite not being able to swim.

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Dad Michael at the bridge which overlooks the spot his son was found. It has been covered with tributes from friends, family and strangers(Image: Paul David Drabble)

His grief-stricken mum and dad, Michael, 46, and mum Suzie, 48, from Mexborough in South Yorkshire, are today pleading with other children: “Please keep out of open water”.

They were speaking for the first time since the tragedy to support the Mirror’s ‘Save Lives for Sam’ water safety campaign. “We are desperate to stop other families having to go through heartbreak like this,” they said.

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Mackenzie and his mum Suzie Gough. ‘He was a real mummy’s boy’

Michael in a message to other children pleaded: “Please don’t do it to your parents because this has broken me. I had to go and identify Kenzie’s body. It was like he was asleep and would not wake up. I told him I loved him and he was with his nannan and grandad now. I don’t want anyone to go through what we’ve had to go through with Kenzie.”

During the last week of May, Mackenzie was one of 13 children who died. Six more adults also drowned.

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Mackenzie loved all things Yoda

The Mirror, backed by bereaved families, charities and Olympians, are pleading for an immediate public awareness campaign ahead of the summer, when it is feared more children could die.

Mackenzie, who was in the process of being officially diagnosed with autism, had been out shopping in Doncaster with his mum and little brother Carter on the Saturday he drowned. He’d managed to persuade his mum to buy him a new tracksuit, then told his dad he ‘owed his mum’ the cash for it.

Michael laughs: “He was my cheeky little monkey. “ He explains how he has to laugh or he will cry.

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The five demands being made after the Mirror joined forces with bereaved families, safety charities and Olympians

“And I’m scared to cry in case I can’t stop. He was my little life saver and kept me going, even after my mum died. Now he will be forever 11,“ he said.

Kenzie’s mum Suzie described him as a “mummy’s boy” who “loved his quiet time and only gave cuddles and kisses on his terms. I used to call him my sensitive soul and my munchkin. He was a sensitive boy who loved his quiet time and his night time phone calls” to his friends, she said.

An inquest into Mackenzie’s death opened and adjourned on Thursday. His body was released for the funeral to be held.

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Mackenzie was in the process of getting an official diagnosis for autism and was scared of water

His dad told the Mirror he’d been out fishing when he got a call from Mackenzie’s mum to say the police were at her house and their son was missing. “I went to Suzie’s and asked where the last time he was seen was and they said ‘pebble beach’. My heart sank! I knew it well. I ran all the way there, it was a mile away and took me about ten minutes.

“Only when I got to the river though did I realise how serious it was because of how many police were there and that’s when the bottom fell out of my world. The bottom fell out of our world.

“We’ve been told his (Kenzie’s) friend ran for help. He found a man on the bank who phoned 999. Kenzie’s bike was on the pebbles along with his top and trainers.”

The family then faced an agonising three day wait until Mackenzie’s body was finally recovered on June 2nd. “That night I was on the bridge and spent the next two days out scouring the river banks.” The River Don was searched by specialist teams, police divers and family friends in boats. One of those was Michael’s best friend Dale Coles, who waded out up to his neck searching for Mackenzie.

But sadly his body was eventually found just yards from where he first went missing. It was in the opposite direction of where the search was concentrated.

Michael has since returned to the scene several times and finds “calm” amongst the “devastation” as he walks along the bridge which has been covered in tributes to his son

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Michael peering down at the spot where Mackenzie drowned on the River Don(Image: Paul David Drabble)

But as we walk with him, the dad doesn’t look at the balloons, solar lights and images of Yoda, which was Mackenzie’s favourite teddy bear – but instead stares down at the water below where his son’s body was found.

“It looks all calm but that dark water is deep and deadly,” Michael warns. He explains how he took Carter, Mackenzie’s little brother, aged eight, to the scene recently to see the tributes to his big brother.

“He said to me; “It doesn’t look dangerous dad’. So I put this stick near the bank and for a few feet you could feel the bottom and then this 6ft stick just vanished. You don’t know what’s underneath.

“His brother, Carter, has been ‘powering on like a trooper’. I asked him why he’s being so strong like this and he said ‘because you and my mum were so strong.

“We used to go to this area as kids too. That beach is like a little oasis and the kids love it but there’s no warnings, no safety equipment there.

“When I was a kid, I’d go canoeing in the canal nearby. I always knew the river was more dangerous. I never thought Kenzie would go near that water, we warned him anyway but he was unsure of the water. ”

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Dad Michael having fun with Kenzie and Carter

As we walk to the spot where McKenzie was found, his dad points out the nearest safety ring, which is behind iron railings and out of sight and on the canal which runs parallel.

The only sign we could see was one to warn the public to pick up after your dog.

“It doesn’t matter whether he was found that night or the next morning, the outcome would have been the same but there would have been less heartache with the waiting. It was painful.”

Dale and Natasha Coles, who have five children of their own, are like family to Michael and they have been helping him cope, raising money for the funeral and arranging for any extra funds to go towards paying for swimming lessons.

During the hunt for Kenzie, Dale was also in a boat searching. “It was horrendous, it was horrible, the worst feeling is not being able to find him or fetch him home. I was saying I didn’t think he was down this far. The police were further down searching than us.

“But I was relieved they’d found him, it didn’t matter where he was, he was found. The main thing was to just get him home.”

Nathasha, 38, has written a water safety book ‘Kenzie’s big summer adventure’ and she is now trying to get out to as many children as possible.

“Whether a child swims or not, I hope this book will help get the message out either way. We don’t want any more families to suffer like this.

“Seeing 19 people die in a week was unprecedented. I can’t ever remember so many people losing their lives to the same thing in separate incidents.

“It’s heartbreaking for me and I’m not his mum and dad. How they feel is impossible to imagine. I cannot bear to think about having a phone call from the police to say that they don’t know where your baby is.”

Michael added: “We want to thank Highwoods Academy for their support and help throughout. Dale and Tash for trying to help us make a difference and all those who worked on the memorial bridge which gave the family such comfort including Bryonie Whittingham and Tom Javens, Sam Tingle, Kelly Wilson and Lacie Dunn.

“We were overwhelmed with all the love and support shown by all our friends and family. From the searches to the donations to making a difference and keep his memory going.”

SOURCE: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/heatwave-drowning-mackenzie-swift-campaign-37286525