27-year-old man dies in pool accident at family reunion

A beloved son died in a swimming pool accident despite his mother’s efforts to save him.

Lewis Edwards, 27, died at the weekend during a family gathering at a house near Loch Rannoch, Perthshire.

His mother Ashley, best friend Jay Hossain and others fought to save him after he lost consciousness, but their efforts were in vain.

Mrs Edwards was called to the swimming pool by her son’s friends after the accident and found him unconscious and unresponsive.

He was resuscitated for about an hour, including by a nurse from the group, until paramedics arrived, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Scottish police said the death was unexplained but there were no suspicious circumstances.

Attorney Edwards told The Courier: “We had a lovely time as a family and after dinner Lewis and some of the other little ones went to the play area and indoor swimming pool.”

“Shortly afterwards, his friends came to pick us up because there had been an incident at the swimming pool. When I got there, Lewis was unconscious and unresponsive. I performed CPR together with other members of our group, including a friend who is a nurse.

“We did that for about an hour until the paramedics arrived. Unfortunately, Lewis had died.”

Mr Edwards was a tree surgeon who worked for Dundee City Council. He also loved snakes and kept 16 of the reptiles in the house he shared with his mother.

She told the newspaper: “He was very popular. He was mischievous and had a bright smile on his face. He loved nature and he loved his snakes.”

Mr Hossain said his best friend had a “great personality” and “always acted out of pure kindness towards other people”. He said: “He always went out of his way to help other people and even went out of his way to do so when it was needed.”

“He was the nicest person I have ever met.”

Yesterday, Scottish police said the death was being treated as “unexplained but there were no suspicious circumstances”, adding: “A report has been submitted to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

■ Click here to visit the Scotland homepage with the latest news and sport