A MOTHER has spoken of the terrifying moment her 10-year-old son was swept down the River Kent while playing at the weekend.

As temperatures soared to 22 degrees on Saturday, Helen Nicholson’s son, Thomas, was cooling off under the railway bridge, behind the police station, in Kendal, when he got into difficulty.

She is now urging other parents to be aware of the river’s hidden dangers.

Mrs Nicholson, 34, said she was unaware of what was happening until one of Thomas’s friends tried to attract her attention.

“I saw his friend waving his arms around and he couldn’t speak,” said Mrs Nicholson. “I said: ‘What on Earth is the matter?’

“All I saw was Thomas’ head bobbing in the water. I ran down the bank but I couldn’t keep up with him; he was moving at a high speed.

“It was absolutely terrifying, I was really scared.”

Luckily, after travelling around 50 to 60 metres, Thomas managed to swim against the current and was able to reach a stone bank which stopped him being carried away further.

“He was absolutely blue when we got him out,” said the mother-of-two. “He was very shaken and I couldn’t sleep that night.”

With the Easter holidays under way, Mrs Nicholson wants other parents to be aware of the risks.

“You can’t trust any part of the river – that’s what shocked me,” she said.

“I chose to go to that area because I thought it was safe.

“It’s taken us by surprise. I don’t think the River Kent is safe at all.”

The Kent is the fastest-flowing river in the UK.

An Environment Agency spokesman said: “The river’s current is influenced by the high rainfall of the Lake District.

“This means that flow speeds and water levels fluctuate widely, resulting in a large range of high and low flows.”