UK heatwave leaves seven children and two adults dead in water incidents

Seven children and two adults have died in separate open water incidents over the Bank Holiday weekend amid record-breaking temperatures across the UK. The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) issued a warning following the deaths, saying it sees a "heightened risk of drowning when air temperatures are higher". On Wednesday, the family of 12-year-old Junior Slater, from Clayton-le-Woods, shared a tribute to him after he died in the River Ribble, in North Yorkshire, on Tuesday. Junior got into difficulty while swimming with friends and his body was retrieved by emergency services at 7.50pm following a large-scale search operation. "Our little blue-eyed boy. He will be truly missed. He was the life and soul of our lives," Junior's family said in a statement. "Words can’t describe how we are feeling right now. We will forever love you Junior." • Subscribe to ITV News on YouTube: http://bit.ly/2lOHmNj • Get breaking news and more stories at http://www.itv.com/news Follow ITV News on TikTok https://www.tiktok.com/@itvnews?lang=en Follow ITV News on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/itvnews/ Follow ITV News on X: https://twitter.com/itvnews