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SPORTS-mad ... family and friends have paid emotional tribute to 13-year-old Joseph Thomas.
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Tributes to Joseph, 'the nicest lad in the world'
1/ 8/2008
TRIBUTES are being paid to a teenager who drowned in a reservoir in Wardle.
As the Observer reported on Wednesday Joseph Thomas, aged 13, had been swimming with friends when he got into difficulties at Watergrove Reservoir on Sunday.
When he failed to return home, he was reported missing by his family and his body was recovered by police divers at 12.25am on Monday.
A number of emotional messages have been left by Joseph’s friends on the Observer website and members of his family have also paid tribute to him.
Speaking on behalf of Joseph’s parents, Anthony Thomas, aged 46, and Carol Winterbottom, aged 41, his uncle
and grandmother described him as a ‘cheeky, sports-mad lad with the world in front of him’.
His uncle, John Ingham, aged 39, said: "He was the nicest lad in the world and enjoyed his football, fishing and cricket.
"He was a massive Rochdale football fan and had just got his season ticket for the club for next year.
"He was really looking forward to it.
"We used to take picnics to Old Trafford and watch Lancashire in the Twenty20 cricket – he loved that, too.
"He’d just started playing for a local cricket team and was a cracking fielder."
Mr Ingham said details of what happened to Joseph were unclear, but he sent out a warning to other youngsters thinking of going for a swim in warm weather.
He added: "He was told time and time again not to do it, but you can’t put an old head on young shoulders and now he has paid the ultimate price."
Grandmother Teresa Ingham, aged 72, said the family were pulling together and supporting each other.
Joseph, of Green Meadow, Wardle, had three brothers, Tony, aged 24, David, aged 21, Billy, aged 17, and a sister, Julie, aged 19.
He was a pupil at St Cuthbert’s RC School after leaving Alice Ingham RC Primary.
To read the emotional messages or leave your own tribute to Joseph, click here
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6/08/2008 at 18:35
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