MANY of our readers will have happy memories of taking their children swimming at Hambleton Leisure Centre, in Northallerton.

It is a family-friendly, fun place for families to go, with slides, waterfalls and wave machines.

But the family of Kaimen Ward have been left devastated by his death at the leisure centre.

Last night, Kaimen’s mum Caroline told of her heartbreak at losing her “perfect” eight-year-old son.

There was also anger in her statement as she demanded to know how Kaimen could have died in a pool supervised by lifeguards.

Her anger is entirely understandable and she has every right to demand answers. But it is too early for recriminations.

Rumours about what went wrong are already flooding the local community but there must be a full inquiry before conclusions are reached and lessons learned.

In the meantime, our hearts go out to Kaimen’s family.

Our thoughts are also with the leisure centre staff who will live with the memory of this terrible tragedy for the rest of their lives.

Playing our part

WE are very encouraged by the positive comments made by Harold Mayne-Nicholls, the head of Fifa’s inspection team, following this week’s visit to the North-East.

England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup appears to be in good shape and, whatever the outcome, we can be proud of the role the North-East has played in impressing some of the most important figures in football.