Family of boy who died boogie-boarding blast fine handed to firm

The family of a schoolboy who died during a boogie boarding trip have reacted with fury after the company behind the tragic outing was fined just £10,000.

Kayden Walker, 12, suffered brain damage and died after he became trapped underwater for more than three minutes on the River Tay, near the village of Stanley, Perthshire.

He was part of a group of 11 children taken by bus to the River Tay for activities which included boogie boarding through a weir which created a channel with currents in the river.

The trip was organised by Outdoor Pursuits Scotland, which has admitted being responsible for non-swimmer Kayden drowning during the charity-run trip.

Several members of Kayden’s family walked out of the court in fury on Monday when the firm was handed a fine of £10,000, which it has been given four years to pay.

Speaking outside court, several of the Walkers described the financial penalty as ‘a joke and a disgrace’ and told the company’s director Phil Robinson: ‘I hope you see his face every time you close your eyes.’

They also called for the company to lose its licence to train people in outdoor activities.

Asked to respond to the family’s comments, Mr Robinson told The Mail: ‘We are passionate about taking people into the outdoors and do what we can to control risks. But the essence of adventure activities is the risk. We are sorry for what happened.’

Sheriff William Wood told Perth Sheriff Court he had been forced to severely restrict the level of fine because the company had an annual turnover of just £33,000.

Sheriff Wood said: ‘The premature death of any child is not something which any parent should have to endure. The sudden unexpected death of a child through fault, accident or misadventure must be almost intolerable.’

He added: ‘No one expects to wave a child off in the morning of a properly organised adventurous pursuit, only for their tragic passing to take place in the course of that.’

Addressing the family’s angry response to the fine as several members stormed out of court, he said: ‘It is always difficult when a company has no money and very little turnover.

‘I tried to explain that to those with an interest, on the principle that you can’t get blood from a stone. I can’t see any other viable option, given the company’s present circumstances.’

Kayden, from Bridgeton, Glasgow drowned after becoming trapped on the upstream side of a weir while on a day trip with the Church House community group on July 28, 2019.

The youngster, whose activity consent form stated that he was unable to swim ten metres without the assistance of a flotation device, was the last child to go over the weir.

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The community group employees turned to face upstream after negotiating the weir but were unable to see Kayden whose board had resurfaced near them.

A company instructor, realising that something was wrong, went to the top of the weir and reached into the water where he had last seen Kayden.

He found the schoolboy an arm’s length underwater and attempted to pull him out, but the water was too powerful and prevented him doing so.

After around three and a half minutes he eventually managed to free him. The force of the water carried Kayden down the weir where the company’s director caught him and immediately started to perform CPR.

A Scottish Ambulance Service helicopter flew Kayden to Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. He was then transferred to the Royal Hospital for Children at Glasgow where he died the following day.

An investigation by Perth and Kinross Council found that the company’s risk assessment for river boarding did not have adequate health and safety control measures in place.

A water activities expert whose opinion was sought by the Crown said the company should have always had one instructor directly below and one instructor in a kayak above the weir until all the group members had successfully negotiated the rapid.

Sheriff Wood said the employee in the kayak at the rear of the group staying up river may have prevented harm coming to Kayden.

He added: ‘The employee will have suffered trauma himself. Mr Robinson is also likely to be permanently scarred by what happened and his own efforts in trying to resuscitate Kayden.’

The company admitted that Kayden died from drowning as a result of its failing to make a sufficient health and safety risk assessment.

It admitted failing to ensure participants were not subject to the risk of entrapment and failing to ensure the children had a safe passage through the weir.

Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown, said: ‘Kayden Walker was a happy, friendly, and much-loved child who enjoyed helping younger children within his church group.’

She added: ‘This should serve as a warning to others who run outdoor and water activity business. A failure to manage the risk in such ventures can have devastating consequences.’