Parents of Wellingborough teen who died in River Nene launch water safety campaign in his memory

Ronalds Abele, had been enjoying the sunny weather with a group of friends on Friday (May 10) when he got into difficulty as he swam in a stretch of the Nene near the Embankment in Wellingborough.

His grieving parents – mum Laura Kirsteine and dad Thomas Okyere – have now joined forces with community members to campaign for improvements to water safety measures including equipment, education and signage.

Remembering their 17-year-old son, who loved football, cars, DIY and helping people, the couple say they were very ‘proud’ of how they had brought him up to be polite and helpful – and always smiling.

Laura, 38, said: “We want to prevent another family going through what we’ve been through. If we can save one life, we will be happy. People always said ‘what a polite young man’.

Thomas helped by Ronalds worked on refurbishing their Wellingborough home with the 17-year-old turning his skilful hands to practical jobs.

Dad Thomas, 38, said: “If I gave him work at home to do, he would do it. We were very proud of him. He was my go-to man. I learned a lot from him. He was a lovely kid. Now after the funeral the house feels empty.

"He was a joyful kid, he was helpful, he wouldn’t say no to any work you gave him. We had a three-way relationship. He was there for his younger siblings. He was always smiling and he was full of happiness.

“Our neighbours, all of them, said what a polite young lad he was and that makes us feel proud because we know that we were raising a good kid.”

Laura said: “There was no picture where he wasn’t smiling every single picture he was smiling.”

The morning of the day he died, he had been up early to take his sister to school, and then met up with friends as he waited to hear about his college course at Tresham where he had been studying.

Laura said: “He was really good with his hands. He would help people fixing bicycles for people. He liked doing it. On the day (he died) he took his sister to school. She won’t see him again.

"A customer in the shop where I work had only met him for ten minutes. When he heard the news he came in and said how he remembered Ronalds – it was a surprise. The community has been brilliant. The support has been unbelievable. We did a balloon release and said prayers on the field. We had up to 300 people come. People who I didn’t know. He had a massive impact.”

Laura and Thomas have met with safety experts from Northants Fire and Rescue, Rev Father Ben Lewis of St Mark’s Church Queensway, Ronalds’ former teachers at Wrenn School, and Wellingborough Town Councillor for the Embankment area, Marion Turner-Hawes. They have been working with the Doing It For Dylan Foundation a water safety charity.

The couple are planning events to mark World Drowning Prevention Day – an international event held each year on July 25 – with details to be announced soon.

Marion Turner-Hawes said: “When Ronlads lost his life here in the river I was very upset. Personally and as a local town councillor we have to re-evaluate and say is there more that we can do. Accidents do happen but our remit is to try to prevent accidents as much as possible.

"After Ronalds’ death was to walk along the river and I was shocked to see there were hardly any signs, virtually no lifesaving equipment and there’s a number of signs saying there used to be lifesaving equipment but it’s not here anymore (because of vandalism).

“If there’s just one more action that we can take to prevent the death of another person – a child, an adult – we must look at that and see what’s possible."

Father Ben has promised to light up St Mark’s blue, the colour of the campaign. Northants Fire and Rescue will visit Wrenn School for a water safety session.

Acting principal of Wrenn School, Laura Parker, said: “Ronalds’ family’s work to improve water safety among young people is incredibly important and something we are very proud to support. We all have a part to play in ensuring the dangers of water are well understood and this campaign will help our students to appreciate the risks and stay safe.

“Since the tragic loss of Ronalds in May, we have held sessions on water safety and cold water shock with our students. We are now working closely with Ronalds’ family and fire safety officers to explore how we can deliver more detailed training and information sessions in school. By working together, we can prevent water-related accidents and make sure our students and, hopefully in turn the wider community, know how to enjoy water safely.”

Thomas added: “I want to do this and go to the local schools to tell his story. We want to raise awareness, that’s our number one priority – water safety awareness – his legacy. We want to do so many things to help the community. In co-operation with the authorities we want to raise awareness of water safety.”

HGV driver Thomas has been given permission for his truck to be named after Ronalds as a special tribute so he can be with him wherever he goes. A memorial bench will be installed and a tree will be planted on the Queensway fields where Ronalds played football.

Next month, Ronalds’ ashes will be taken to Latvia, where he was born, to his mum’s home town for burial.