Kyle was 'a boy being a boy'

He said there were six friends in the group that day, adding: "I dunno how Kyle ended up in the water. We were all in the field and we were watching the bikes in the field," he said, pointing over his shoulder to the playing field behind him, adding: "Simon says 'We'll go up to the Spar', so I wanted to go to the chippy. So, all of us were walking, with two behind including Kyle and walked on and we went to the start of the fence up there on the main road and started waiting and then Simon goes 'Go on and we'll catch up'.

"So they went into the shop and I went into the chippy and we went back down."

He said two of the friends went down home to get their dinner, "so me and Simon met up with them again and the next thing we just seen the police going down and started running after him and we don't know why".

David reflects for a beat and said: "When we seen the police running after him we thought, you know...I dunno, we just kept walking up and the two policemen were at the rocks and we thought they were just nosying in the water and I thought they all got away, you know? That the two boys got away.

"The next thing we saw the police and then we looked in the water and there was a boy standing shouting there like," he says pointing, and adding: "And I turned round and I seen him in the water".

Down-to-earth

Describing Kyle as a friend he said Kyle was "a down-to-earth wee fella".

"He was just a boy being a boy, that's all, that's all. He was a big Rangers fan. I was chatting to a girl last night from Tullyally and she says her mum put a football in the water last night. We were there at about two o'clock and we seen a Northern Ireland ball going past us in the water. That one there," he says, indicating the blue and white one that is trapped by the bridge: "That one there has been there since last night".

"He was just a young fella who loved being out with his mates. Wee Simon up there, he was best freinds with him. Kyle was the sort of boy if he wasn't there you always asked about him, you know what I mean?"

David said everyone had been left feeling "really shattered".

"Shattered's not the word for it. It's only hitting me now, I think. Last night I was full of life and I was just trying to comfort everyone who was crying. I just had to let Simon go, he told me he just had to walk away, he wouldn't talk to nobody last night," he said, adding: "This morning my head's just gone blank. I've barely slept for the last two nights. I've a hard time closing my eyes cos I keep on seeing him in the water."

Asked if any tributes were planned for Kyle, David said some people were talking about planting a tree and putting up a gold plate to the teenager's memory at the foot of the tree.

"Last night we were sitting and Leslie from the YMCA, she is the head leader, she came down with a free box of chocolates for us with Milky Stars and Whispas. They left and came back with chips and blankets for us," he added.

Going quiet for a moment, David adds: "I'll never be able to go through there and play football again."