10-year-old Riain Brennan-Byrne dies in rope swing accident while playing with friends
A devastated mother has told of her heartbreak after her young son died in a tragic rope swing accident while playing with friends.
Riain Brennan-Byrne, 10, from Wicklow, Ireland, had been visiting Leicestershire for his summer holidays when he died on August 7, last year.
An inquest heard how the schoolboy had been playing in Holly Hayes Wood in Whitwick, near Coalville, when he became entangled in the swing, that was hanging from a tree branch with a blue cord.
The youngster was found by his friends who immediately ran for help. But despite valiant efforts to revive Riain, the 10-year-old was pronounced dead in hospital an hour later, reports Leicestershire Live.
‘I am here with a broken heart. The loss of my son is nothing I could have prepared for,’ she told the hearing at Leicester Town Hall.
‘He was always my king and was loved by his brothers and step-sister. They miss him so much.
‘He has left a huge void in our lives. He will always be with us and I will always be his mother.’
The inquest heard how Riain, who lives with his father Derek in Ireland, had travelled to Coalville to stay with his mother during the summer break.
At an inquest into his death, Riain’s mother Niamh said she had been left heartbroken by his loss, saying it had ‘left a huge void in our lives’.