Grieving parents' open-water plea after daughter's death

Heartbroken parents are calling for life-saving equipment to be placed near all open water sites after their 16-year-old daughter drowned in the River Tarne.

Kat Tomlinson and Rob Cooke described Lilianna - known as "Lil" - as their little angel, who could light up a room.

On 25 May, Lillianna was sunbathing and paddling with friends at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire when she got into difficulty in the river.

Tomlinson had received a call from her daughter's phone. One of her friends was on the other end, frantically explaining that they could not find her in the water.

"We were down there in 30 seconds flat," she said.

Cooke added: "We all got in the water, and we just swam around trying the best we could, but it was so strong.

"The water itself was unbelievably, deceiving; it really was."

Her body was recovered after an hour of emergency services searching the river.

"You don't realise how dangerous [it is] until it's too late. It all got took away in a split minute," Tomlinson said.

The grieving mother has now launched a petition calling for mandatory life-saving equipment to be near all open water.

Cooke said: "If we can get something there that is going to stop or even possibly help children that might go in there and anything happens. If it saves one person. . ."

Warwickshire County Council said they supported initiatives to improve water safety.

A spokesperson said: "We would like to express our heartfelt condolences to Lillianna Tomlinson's family and loved ones, who have remained in our thoughts since she tragically lost her life in May.

"We support any efforts to improve water safety and help prevent incidents like this from happening in the future.

"We take health and safety at our country parks very seriously and continually review the measures we have in place."

Over the past few years, they said they had made several water safety improvements in collaboration with the local fire service, including the installation of a water safety board with throwline by the River Tame bridge and throwline training for staff and volunteers.

The local authority said it had also added enhanced signage providing additional details about the risks associated with open waters and what to do in an emergency.

A spokesperson added that the council was looking to replace its life rings with throwlines, which are less likely to be subject to theft or vandalism.

Cooke and Tomlinson have also urged everyone to think twice before entering open water.

Speaking of his daughter, Cooke said: "It literally breaks your heart every time you think of it all; you see something that reminds you of who she was, how she was, and how she acted.

"We missed out on prom, which she was really excited about.

"But there's lots of stuff we're going to miss out on, and I [was] looking forward to giving my daughter away; I'm not going to be able to do that.

"There's just a hell of a lot that we're not going to be able to do, as a father, as a mother."

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