A Coventry mum whose teenage son drowned after being caught in a rip current is turning her grief into a campaign to save lives. Callum Baker-Osborne died in 2021 while trying to save his relatives after they were swept out to sea during a family holiday near Poole, Dorset.
Callum, 18, swam out to help his family members, but the current was too strong, and he was last seen keeping his seven-year-old sister above the water, the BBC reported. All the children involved in the incident survived, while Callum tragically died.
Mum Ann Osborne said the family have since been working with the RNLI to raise awareness of the dangers posed by rip currents. She said they did not want ‘anyone else going through what we have had to go through.’
Remembering Callum, Ann told the BBC: “He just liked to smile and made everybody laugh. He was just happy.”
She added: “He loved to have his cuddles. He used to put his head on my knee and I would play with his hair. He was very loveable.”
Since losing Callum, his family have raised £30,000 for the RNLI in Poole while educating young people from inland areas such as Coventry about the dangers of unseen currents. Rips are powerful channels that move away from the shoreline and can quickly pull people into deeper water, according to the RNLI.
Ann said: “We just try and stay positive that we are doing this to help the RNLI save lives and trying to get the word to inner-city children that do not know about rip tides and the dangers of the water. We do not want anyone going through what we have had to go through.”
Sign up for CoventryLive newsletters to stay up to date with the latest news across Coventry and Warwickshire. Subscribers can receive morning and evening newsletters with the latest headlines from across Coventry, including Longford, Earlsdon, Tile Hill and Willenhall.
Want to stay up to date with the latest events, restaurant openings, family attractions and more across Coventry and Warwickshire? Sign up for our new email newsletter HERE.
Join CoventryLive on WhatsApp for the latest headlines and breaking news from across Coventry. Sign up HERE.