A mum has spoken of her heartbreak after discovering her son had ‘drowned in a puddle’ while walking his dog.

Thomas Owen, 18, from Hale , Altrincham , suffered from learning difficulties and epilepsy and would always tell mum Jayne how long he was going to be when he took puppy Buster for a walk.

After he didn’t come home for more than an hour during the afternoon of 22 June, Jayne then heard sirens and rushed to the nearby park to see paramedics attempting to revive her son.

Thomas, a college student, was pronounced dead five minutes after arriving at Wythenshawe Hospital.

Jayne, 46, and her husband Stephen are now demanding an apology from the council, who had allegedly not filled in the waterlogged ‘hole’ in the middle of the local park despite requests from several local residents.

According to Jayne, another teenager is believed to have broken his arm after falling into the hole two years ago.

Jayne, who was Thomas’ full-time carer, said: “We’ve all got to go sometime, but this was a horrendous thing to happen to anyone.

The hole where the puddle had formed

“I heard the sirens as I was about to get into the shower. I just thought, ‘Please not Thomas’, as he’d been a bit longer than he said he would.

“I rushed out in my pyjamas and saw three paramedics and two policemen crowded around Thomas who was lying on the floor.

“They were trying to revive him and I was shouting, ‘No, Thomas, don’t you dare leave me.’ I went with him in the ambulance but I knew it was already too late.

“They tried all they could but no-one had any idea how long he had been in that puddle for. Five minutes after we got to hospital they told me we had lost him.”

Buster was a gift on Thomas’ 18th birthday last October, to help him get over his fear of dogs.

Jayne says Thomas ‘adored’ his dog and took him for walks every day, often for up to an hour.

An elderly neighbour spotted Thomas’ body, but was unable to lift him out of the puddle herself and had to walk the five-minute journey home to get her mobile phone to dial 999.

Thomas’ funeral took place on 13 July with JLS music playing as they entered the chapel.

Thomas Owen's mother Jayne

Jayne said: “Thomas was two and a half when he was diagnosed with epilepsy and learning difficulties, it was after someone at his nursery picked up on it. But we never treated him any differently and let him socialise like any other teenager.

“We’re all heartbroken and can’t imagine life without Thomas. I was really close to him as it was only me and him at home during the days when he wasn’t at college.

“Stephen works at Costco and Thomas’ younger brother works as an apprentice. It’s thanks to Costco and some of my gym friends that we were even able to afford the funeral at such short notice.

“I would like an apology from the council. This shouldn’t have had to happen for them to finally take action.

“We heard from a neighbour that the hole had been filled in, with grass seeds planted on top and a fence put round it.

“The council didn’t even let us know this was what they were doing. Not one letter or phone call. But it took someone dying before they’d realised that it was a danger.

“When Thomas was having CPR, there was a tube in his mouth and I could see all of this dirty water coming out. It was unbearable.

“It’s unclear whether or not he’d had a seizure and fallen into the puddle. We won’t know until we have the results of the post mortem.

“It’s Buster’s first birthday today and Thomas had wanted to have a tea party for him. So I’ll be going to see Thomas at the cemetery with Buster and taking some tea and cake with me.”

The park where Thomas was found

A spokesman for Trafford Council said: “Trafford Council is aware of the tragedy that occurred in the park and sends its condolences to the family and friends.

“However, the council feels it would be inappropriate to comment further due to an inquest being held into the tragic death.”

Police have confirmed there are no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a file has been prepared for the coroner for a full inquest.