Boy, 15, drowns trying to rescue his football from a pond

A schoolboy drowned in a pond after becoming tangled in weeds as he tried to reach a football.

Adam Greenacre, 15, was playing with friends when he noticed an abandoned black and red ball floating about 20ft from the bank.

But after diving into the water, he became caught in thick weeds and was dragged under.

Although two friends tried to reach him with a 12ft-long fishing rod, the teenager was unable to grab on to it.

Adam, who lived only 400 yards from the pond with his mother Julie and his two brothers and sister, was pronounced dead in hospital two hours later.

Last night, it emerged that staff at the nearby Lynnsport & Leisure Park in King's Lynn, Norfolk, had stopped passers-by from jumping into the water in case they drowned.

Locals also claimed a sign warning people not to swim in the 6ft-deep pond had recently been vandalised.

One 15-year-old, who witnessed the accident on Friday, said: 'He was a great swimmer but he didn't stand a chance.

Griefstricken: Adam's friends lay flowers at the scene

'He went in and quickly got caught in the weed. He was trying to push himself up with his hands and was yelling, "Help".

'He kept trying to keep himself from going under - but the more he struggled, the more the weeds pulled him down. All he was doing was screaming for help.'

Gordon Scott, 49, a dustman and trained lifeguard who arrived at the scene a few minutes after Adam disappeared at 6.30pm, said leisure centre staff had stopped him from jumping into the pond.

The ball Adam was trying to recover

'I wanted to give it a go because I am a damn good swimmer but they wouldn't let me,' he added. 'I might not have been able to save him but at least I could have tried.'

Friends and relatives of the teenager wept as they laid floral tributes at the scene on Saturday.

One bouquet of red roses had the message: 'To our angel Adam, lots of love forever, Mum and Dad xxx.'

Brian Long, of King's Lynn and West Norfolk borough council, which runs the leisure centre, said: 'We will investigate fully every aspect of this tragic accident.'

Deadly: The pool has thick weeds which dragged Adam under the surface