Cavendish Press
A distraught family was being comforted today after their 16-year-old son fell to his death in front of his friends at a late-night party.
In a tragedy that will chime with many parents who fret about what their teenage kids get up to when they're with their friends, out and about or on holiday, it appears that schoolboy Kyle Winterbottom was trying to climb off the parapet of a third floor flat when he lost his footing and crashed 40ft to the ground.
One newspaper suggested the talented rugby player and swimmer had been showing off, dangling his legs over the parapet, before he slipped and fell as he tried to get back over.
The teenager was taken to hospital but died later of multiple injuries. Greater Manchester Police said there were no suspicious circumstances and the accident had been referred to the coronor.
According to witnesses, Kyle had been to a party before the tragedy. He and his friends had then gone to another friend's flat in Oldham, Greater Manchester, in the early hours of Saturday morning.
One of his pals, Sean Dockerty, 18, said: "We'd all been at a party but it was dead so we decided to go back for a drink at my brother's flat.
"We were having a good time and then Kyle went onto the balcony. It was about 2.20am on the Saturday morning. I heard screaming and people were shouting that he had fallen and I ran out and saw him.
"A friend ran down and put him in the recovery position and he was still alive at that point. He wouldn't have jumped though. I don't know exactly what happened."
Family friend John Flanagan, 51, said: 'I think he'd been dangling over the edge and hanging over and then when he's tried to get back over he has lost his footing and fallen to the ground catching the fence underneath.
"It's just been a tragic accident."
Kyle's parents and his seven siblings, Leigh, 22, Jimmy, 21, Keelie, 19, Nicole 18, Jodie, 15, Jade, 13 and Ryan,11, were all being comforted.