WARNING signs will be put up on a dangerous stretch of the River Tees where a schoolboy drowned while playing with friends.

Action has been promised after The Northern Echo took up the call of Malcolm Glen, whose 15-year-old son, Christopher, died in hospital after he got into difficulty swimming at Cleasby Deeps.

The isolated stretch, down stream from the Broken Scar beauty spot in Low Coniscliffe, is known to contain strong undercurrents which can drag a child under water.

In the wake of Monday's tragedy, confusion surrounded who was responsible for safety on the stretch of the river.

But after Mr Glen and Cleasby councillor Campbell Dawson called for action to be taken to help prevent another tragedy, The Northern Echo yesterday took up the case.

Last night, Darlington Borough Council admitted that it was responsible for Cleasby Deeps and the surrounding riverbank.

The authority said it would seek talks with the Environment Agency and The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (Rospa) with a view to erecting warning signs as soon as possible.

Council spokesman Steve Jones said: "It would be up to us to put any signs up.

"The land is ours all along the loop from Blackwell to Broken Scar.

"As we already have signs up at Broken Scar we will look to put in place the same precautions at the part of the river now in question.

"We plan to seek advice from the experts and take whatever steps deemed necessary as quickly as possible."

Mr Jones said the council also planned to continue with its education campaign.

"We want to try to spell out the dangers to young people of swimming in rivers," he said.

Figures released by Rospa show that, last year, 341 people in the UK drowned accidentally in inland waters, such as rivers and canals. Already this summer half a dozen deaths have been recorded.

Rospa says anyone owning a waterway should take responsibility for its safety and carry out a risk assessment if necessary.

Roger Cornall, head of water and leisure safety at Rospa, said: "Signs are part of the armoury that can be used to make open water sites safer."

He said drownings could be prevented and land owners and water site operators were responsible for safety.

The opening of the inquest into Christopher Glen's death on Monday will be held at Darlington Magistrates Court tomorrow afternoon