A fresh inquest into the tragic death of 16‐year‐old Dishone Lloyd at Burnside Lakes in Cherry Hinton has raised concerns about safety at the abandoned former chalk pits. Lloyd, a pupil at Mark Hall Academy in Harlow, Essex, drowned on August 12, 2024, while swimming with a group of teenagers at the location, an incident his grieving mother fears may not be isolated.
Inadequate security
At the inquest held at Lawrence Court in Huntingdon on February 24, Lloyd’s mother, Ketema Davis, lambasted the inadequate security measures in place, warning that “it is going to happen again.” Davis criticised the authorities for what she described as “useless” security and a lack of urgency in addressing the site’s hazardous conditions. She stressed that no parent should have to endure the anguish of losing a child in such circumstances, calling for immediate action, including the drainage or removal of the dangerous lake.
Fatal sequence of events
The inquest heard harrowing testimony from one of Lloyd’s friends, Michael Willett, who recounted the fatal sequence of events. According to Willett, the group had followed a cluster of stronger swimmers to a platform approximately one hundred metres from shore. Initially, Lloyd appeared to be swimming without difficulty but soon began to panic. His friend described how Lloyd’s head repeatedly disappeared beneath the water, a grim precursor to his eventual drowning. Despite urgent shouts of “he’s drowning” from nearby onlookers, help came too late, and Lloyd’s body was only recovered by the police the following day.
Security guard struggles with large group of teenagers
A security guard, Mohb Sohrab, had encountered a group of around 30 teenagers at Burnside Lakes. Sohrab claimed he had repeatedly instructed the group to vacate the area, but his warnings were ignored, and tensions escalated to the point where some members of the group even threatened him and a fellow guard. After calling emergency services and being directed through a series of unresponsive channels—first 999, then 101—Sohrab reported that he waited for over 14 minutes before hanging up, only to return and hear frantic shouts indicating that Lloyd was missing.
Coroner ruling
The coroner, Elizabeth Gray, confirmed that the cause of death was drowning and determined the incident to be an accidental tragedy. Yet for Lloyd’s family, the verdict does little to ease the pain of a preventable loss. As the community grapples with the implications of this heartbreaking event, calls for a thorough review of safety protocols at Burnside Lakes continue to intensify, with many urging that decisive measures be taken to ensure such a tragedy is never repeated.
