Family of 12-year old Ava Gray who accidentally drowned in Balloch say action needed to prevent fatalities
Ava's mum Leanne and auntie Jamie have been speaking to Clyde 1.
Last updated 28th Jul 2021
The family of 12-year old Ava Gray, who died following an incident in Balloch last year, are calling for more action to be taken to prevent more lives from being lost.
It's after six people died in Scottish water during the weekend.
Ava was playing with friends at the River Leven in Balloch last August when the incident took place.
Ava's mum, Leanne, said: "She went into the water playing with friends, and she went a bit too far, and got swept and passed away. It took three hours for them to find her."
Her auntie Jamie said: "The girls struggled for quite a while - they had another friend who was there and he was in the shore and I think he tried his best to help and shout for help but from what we've been told, they were ignored, and the place was really busy.
"There was a man who I can't thank enough for his efforts. He was on the bridge and he heard them and he came down, and he managed to get her friend out of the water.
"But by the time he tried again for Ava, she was away."
Leanne says the last year has been horrific for them all.
She said: "It's been hell. It's a living hell. Nothing's the same."
Jamie said: "It changes you as a person. This might sound heartless, but you end up you've got no time for people's pettiness.
"Day to day complaints and moans - when something like this happens, nothing else comes close."
The sisters say they have lost sleep thinking about how Ava felt at that time.
Jamie said: "For months, all I could think about was Ava's fear.
"That's all I could think about was how frightened she must have been... The pain.
"That's the thing that keeps you up at night is how much she must have suffered."
Leanne said: "That was my biggest thing - how long did she suffer for?
"Her friend told me that when they were under the water it was as if Ava knew, and she told Abbie that she loved her, and that's the biggest thing for me because she knew she was dying - and nobody could save her."
Leanne and Jamie say more action is needed to prevent further lives being lost in Scottish waterways.
Jamie said: "As a government, they need to start introducing safety markers.
"They need to start introducing buoys or nets or both, to say do not pass this point - and if they do, I don't know if fines are appropriate.
"I know people will say there are like one thousand lochs in Scotland you can't patrol them all.
"No you can't - but they're not all as popular as Loch Lomond is, or the beaches are.
"You need to focus on where children are going to be.
"It's not anybody's sole responsibility. Schools could do more, the government could do a lot more, local authorities could do a lot more.
"It's not fair just to blame parents - it's not up to parents to be the sole educator."
The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.