Weir Boat Accident: Tributes For Dad And Son

A father and son who died when the boat they were in overturned at a weir on the River Avon have been named locally as Julian Mynott and three-year-old Freddie.

Two other children are being treated in hospital following the accident in the village of Barford in Warwickshire.

One of the youngsters is in a serious but stable condition at Birmingham Children's Hospital, Warwickshire Police said.

The second child is being treated at Warwick Hospital and is described as conscious but poorly.

The pair were rescued from the water by a passing police officer and a local resident shortly after the accident on Saturday afternoon.

The bodies of Mr Mynott, 42, and his son, who lived in Barford, were recovered from the river later that night.

The four had all been out in a small rowing boat when it went over a three-metre-high weir and capsized.

As news of the tragedy sunk in, friends and neighbours of the family in the close-knit village paid tribute to them.

Freddie had only recently celebrated his third birthday with a party at their home, which was bought by his parents about a year ago.

Polly Bonner-Evans, who lives close to the family, said: "They were just really lovely people. The family were so kind, so nice, pleasant."

She said she was struggling to come to terms with what had happened and she could only imagine what Mr Mynott's wife Emma and their two other children were going through.

"My heart goes out to them," she said. "I wish we could just scoop them up and wrap them in our arms and do whatever we could.

"I don't know how as a mother ... I don't know how you cope with that."

Ms Bonner-Evans scattered flowers into the river from the bridge in Barford in memory of Freddie and Mr Mynott.

She said the community would pull together and do its best to help Mrs Mynott and the family to deal with the awful tragedy.