The family of a teenage boy who drowned while swimming in a quarry yesterday spoke of their grief at losing a child who "touched the hearts of many".
The body of 15-year-old Daniel Steedman, from Kirkliston, West Lothian, was recovered from the Humbie Quarry near his home late on Thursday night.
He was with friends at the quarry during the afternoon when he got into difficulties in the water. His body was recovered at 11pm after a major search operation involving a 20-strong coastguard crew and a team of 27 firefighters assisted by a helicopter.
His family said he was an "outgoing" boy who "enjoyed life".
In a statement released by Lothian and Borders Police, the Steedman family said: "He will be well and truly missed beyond words. He was very family-orientated and touched the hearts of many. Daniel was outgoing. He enjoyed life and lived it the way he wanted to."
The disused quarry is understood to be a popular diving spot for youngsters in the area.
Tributes were paid to the Queensferry High School pupil by friends writing on the social networking site Bebo.
One said: "Daniel, you will always be in my heart, until the day I see you again. I love you."
Another wrote: "Why did you have to go, mate? This isn't fair - I am gonna miss you so much. Life won't be the same without you."
One friend, known as Dylan, added: "Can't believe you're gone mate. Am going to miss you loads mate.
"All the good times we had playing football or when me you John and Sean were talking to a drunk guy from the pub and he called you Chesney because of your hair. Well I never thought I'd be saying this but RIP mate, always in my heart."
Nearby residents claimed that although the quarry was popular with children and young people, concerns had been raised over the dangers, with claims that fencing was inadequate and children often climbed over it to swim during the summer.
Another shocked resident said that his cousin had almost drowned in a similar accident at the site a number of years ago.
The quarry is surrounded by cliffs, and has water around 100 ft at its deepest. Humbie is a former sandstone quarry which it is understood was used until around 1900, when it is thought flooding led to the end of production.
Like many such quarries, an uneven pool floor and the possibility of old buildings or machinery under the surface make swimming in it extremely hazardous.
The Scottish Government has launched a safety review on Scotland's waterways following a number of deaths as warm weather continues to draw people to water.
In June, a 13-year-old schoolboy who was swimming where the rivers Tweed and Teviot meet at Kelso died after being carried under by strong currents.
In May, a couple died after trying to rescue their dogs from the River Garnock in Ayrshire, and the bodies of four anglers were found in Loch Awe, in Argyll, in March.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article