Farewell to river death boy.

Byline: By Matt Casey 

Scores of weeping school pals of a teenager who drowned in a swollen river joined his grieving family to say a final farewell.

Soccer mad Chris Grant's coffin was draped in a Newcastle United banner and he was buried wearing a black and white shirt signed by United players.

Chris, 13, drowned 12 days ago while playing with friends by the River Derwent, at Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, barely a mile from his home in Barkwood Road, Highfield.

Since the tragedy neighbours and friends have contributed for a plaque to be erected in his memory at the spot, mourners were told by the Reverend Stephen Hewitt, who conducted the service.

And Chris' parents, Helen, 33, and Paul, who have a daughter, Samantha, 15, and a 14-month-old son, Karl, are campaigning for a warning notice and a lifebelt at the stretch of the river where he died.

Mr Hewitt told the congregation at St Patrick's Church, in High Spen: "When a young person dies the shock touches the heart of not only the family but the whole community, and the numbers here today demonstrate how deeply his loss has been felt. Chris was a very normal boy of his age. Mischievous, at the same time quiet-natured, mad on football and was often out and about with his particular friends.

"He took a lot of joy in life and had many friends.

"It was the kind of adventure young lads of Chris's age get up to every day. But his mum had no idea he was going down to the river - and it ended in tragedy. It's not just the family. The accident has hit Chris's close friends keenly, especially the 15 mates in his gang, here in church today, and many other neighbours and friends.

" When something like this happens, it is nothing less than a tragedy. It's a time when as a community we are aware of our humanity, and that we are all bound together.

"It reminds us how precious and fragile life is and that in a world where so much is good there is also much evil and hurt."

Chris was buried in Hookergate Cemetery.

The youngster, a pupil at Hookergate School, was pulled from the River by firemen after he and a friend were spotted struggling in the water. He died later in Newcastle General Hospital.