A teenager found dead in a canal after entering the water on what was so far the hottest day of the year has been named.
Preston McNally was pulled from the Leeds-Liverpool Canal in Burnley, Lancashire, on Saturday evening.
The 16-year-old had entered the water near Empire Way in the town on Saturday.
Emergency services raced to the scene at 4.20pm, sparking a frantic search of the canal.
But it ended three hours later, when his body was recovered just before 7.20pm.
Paying tribute on social media, a heartbroken family member described Preston as someone who made ‘every person laugh.’
‘Oh my darling boy. My heart is broken. You did not deserve this and our family did not deserve this,’ the post read.
‘You were so loved and you made every person laugh so much. It was only days ago you chipped your front tooth (I’ve heard you still had 4 girls around you).
‘I am so sorry you have been taken from us, I’m sorry for us all but especially your mum and dad and my dad too.
‘Your sisters, your aunties, your cousins, your nannies, we’re all going to miss you so much.
‘My heart aches and I don’t know how we will ever come to terms with losing you.
“Forever 16 and forever in our hearts. Love you always.’
Other grieving relatives said their ‘world has crashed down into a million pieces’ after his tragic death.
One posted: ‘We lost someone who was loved by so many. Our sweet squishy faced blue eyed boy, he was the bane of our lives.
‘Words cannot comprehend how we are all feeling as a family, we are devastated, empty and just like that over night our world has crashed down into a million pieces.’
Lancashire Police confirmed the tragic death in a statement on Sunday, saying he was pronounced dead at the scene.
A force spokesperson said inquiries are continuing.
It comes as the UK reached its hottest temperatures on Saturday when 32.7°C was reported in Heathrow.
The Met Office later said the country had an unprecedented seventh consecutive day of 30°C heat on Sunday.
An amber heat health alert was also in place for much of the week, covering the capital, the south east, the south west, the east and west midlands, the east, the north west, and Yorkshire and Humber.
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