Outdoor activity firm fined £10,000 after boy, 12, drowned in river

An outdoor activity company has been fined £10,000 for breaching health and safety legislation after a 12-year-old boy drowned in a river.

Schoolboy, Kayden Walker, of Bridgeton, Glasgow, was taking part in a boogie boarding session on the River Tay near the village of Stanley, Perthshire, when he was separated from his board and became trapped at a weir on July 2, 2019.

He died the following day in the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Scotland’s prosecution service said Outdoor Pursuits Scotland, based in Glasgow, pleaded guilty at Perth Sheriff Court on Monday to breaching health and safety legislation and was fined £10,000.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) said the court heard Kayden drowned after becoming trapped on the upstream side of a weir while on a day trip with the Church House community group.

The court heard Kayden’s consent form stated he was unable to swim 10 metres without using a floatation device, COPFS said.

He was the last child to go over the weir and was between two community group employees with all the outdoor activity group instructors below the weir, according to the prosecution service.

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

An Outdoor Pursuits Scotland instructor went to the top of the weir, reached into the water where he had last seen Kayden, found him an arm’s length under the surface and attempted to pull him out but could not due to the strength of the current, the prosecution service said.

The court heard he freed Kayden after around three and a half minutes and the schoolboy was swept over the weir where he was caught by the company director who began CPR, COPFS said.

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

A water activities expert told the COPFS that Outdoor Pursuits Scotland 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.

Debbie Carroll, COPFS lead on health and safety investigations said: “Kayden Walker was a happy, friendly, and much-loved child who enjoyed helping younger children within his church group.

“The measures Outdoor Pursuits Scotland Ltd had in place were insufficient to ensure, so far as was reasonably practicable, the health and safety of participants, and in particular non-swimmer Kayden Walker.

“Kayden’s tragic death could have been prevented had the company ensured a safe system of work was in place to allow participants to safely negotiate the weir.

“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.

“My thoughts are with Kayden’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

Outdoor Pursuits Scotland declined to comment.