Boy, 11, dies after Burnley canal pipe fall

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A pipe across the Leeds-Liverpool canal
Image caption,
The 11-year-old boy had been crossing a pipe on the Leeds-Liverpool canal

An 11-year-old boy has died after falling into a canal in Lancashire.

The boy had been crossing the Leeds-Liverpool canal on a pipe when he lost his balance near Lowerhouse Lane, Burnley at about 19:00 BST on Tuesday.

He was pulled from the water by a man who heard someone shout there was a child in the canal. He gave the boy CPR until firefighters arrived.

The youngster was taken to the Royal Blackburn Hospital after being treated by paramedics, but he died later.

'Get him out'

The death is not being treated as suspicious.

Image caption,
Peter Graham said he "just wanted to get the lad out" of the water

Peter Graham said: "I just heard someone shout there was a child in the canal so I just come flying downstairs in my bare feet.

"[I] got him out as soon as possible."

Mr Graham had been cleaning a bedroom of his house, which overlooks the canal, when he heard the boy was in the water.

"I just jumped in. I didn't know what were in there, I didn't know how deep it were, I just wanted to get the lad out and that were my job.

"It was a little lad's life... you'll do it for anyone," he added.

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