A TEENAGE boy drowned after being swept away in a fast-moving river.

The 16-year-old, who has not been named, had been fishing with friends on the River Leven, near Yarm, on Teesside, when he fell in the water.

One of the boys, a 15-year-old, dived in after him but the current was too strong.

The group of young fishing enthusiasts from Norton in Stockton, were camping out behind the derelict Cross Keys pub at Leven's Bridge on the A1044 on Saturday, when the accident occurred shortly after 11pm.

One of the group called the victim's father, who called the fire brigade before rushing to the scene.

A full-scale rescue operation involving the fire brigade boat, police helicopter and specialist lighting equipment was launched. The teenager was found, alive but unconscious, in a water ford 400 yards downstream within 15 minutes of the call. He was taken to the University Hospital of North Tees General but died in the early hours of yesterday.

Riasat Khaliq, divisional officer with Cleveland Fire Service, who directed the rescue effort from the shore, said: "As soon as the first two engines arrived it was clear we needed more help. The river was very winding and was high and fast moving. It was dark and very muddy.

"We had three men in the rescue boat which had been towed from Thornaby who had thermal imaging equipment. We also had three others in wetsuits downstream. It was Steve Collyshore, who was wading in the water, who found him about 400 yards downstream. He immediately began resuscitation which continued in the boat and then on shore.

"We didn't know if he was alive at that stage although the signs did not look good.

"The whole operation was very quick. We had him on shore within 15 minutes of the initial call but it just wasn't enough to save him. It is just a complete tragedy."

Dave Hill, the acting police inspector investigating the death, said the other boys were distraught. "We are simply treating this as an awful, tragic accident."