Boy's death is third family tragedy

A family was in torment after the death of a third son who drowned while cooling off in a river.

Colin Dodds, 16, was playing with friends at a popular bathing spot on the River Wear near his home at Bishop Auckland, County Durham, when he got into difficulty on Saturday afternoon.

His body was recovered in the early hours of Sunday after police divers located it not far from where he disappeared.

It is the third tragedy to affect his family, who live in Douthwaite Road on the close-knit Woodhouse Close Estate.

His older brother Ryan died aged 14 in July 2009 from multiple organ failure. He was diagnosed with Hirschsprung's disease at birth, a rare condition that affects the bowels.

In 1992, the family lost six-week-old Kenneth after he died from complications caused by his premature birth.

Durham Police said Colin went swimming with two friends, also 16, to cool off in the warm weather. The teenagers were in a section of the river known locally as The Batts when Colin began to struggle and was unable to reach the river bank. His friends raised the alarm at around 5.15pm on Saturday when Colin failed to emerge from the water.

A joint operation involving police, ambulance, the fire service, the RAF and search and rescue teams was launched and continued throughout the night.

The force spokeswoman said a police underwater search team found Colin's body at around 4.20am on Sunday.

The death was not being treated as suspicious, the spokeswoman said, describing it as "a tragic accident". Colin's family were said to be "distraught".