Grief of tragic angler's parents

May 28 2008 by Clare Hickie, Liverpool Daily Post

THE grieving parents of a young angler who died on a weekend fishing trip say they are devastated.

Craig Craven, from Prenton, Wirral, was looking for the perfect angling spot when he ended up in the water off the coast of Anglesey on Saturday night.

The 22-year-old was on a weekend camping trip with lifelong friend Phil McWilliam, 24.

Craig was plucked from the bitterly cold waters off Cemaes Bay by helicopter and flown to Gwynedd hospital.

Doctors spent four hours trying to revive him but were unable to save his life.

Mr McWilliam was rescued by the coastguard after spending 45 minutes in the water.

Yesterday, Craig’s parents Pat and Mike Craven spoke of the huge void left in their family.

Mr Craven said: “Craig was everything to us. He was lively, happy, always smiling. He was just the best son ever.

“He was very well liked and he had loads of friends. All his aunts, uncles and his grandparents are simply devastated.

“Although we have said to ourselves we have accepted he’s gone, I really don’t think that we have.

“We are going to have to start a new life without him. The whole thing just seems unreal.”

Craig lived at home with his parents and 18-year-old sister Kimberley, and he worked with his father installing central heating. He loved doing up old vehicles and spending his weekends looking for the next big fishing catch.

Fishing buddies Craig and Phil, who lived on the same street, were away on a camping and fishing weekend when tragedy struck.

His parents still don’t know what happened to their son other than he ended up in the sea.

Mr Craven added: “All we know is that he was looking for the ideal fishing spot and he went into the water.

The Cravens returned home from an evening out on Saturday when a family friend knocked at their front door late at night to tell them Craig had been in an accident.

Mr Craven said: “We did not really understand what had happened, but we got to the hospital at just before 3am not knowing what we would find.

“When we got there the doctors had been working on him for four hours. They kept getting his temperature up a little bit but it was no good. We knew he had gone.

“Our house has been full of people since it happened. We have family here all the time but when they go and it’s just the two of us we are both just quiet.

“We haven’t really taken it in yet.”

Staff at Gwynedd hospital last night said Mr McWilliam, who was picked up from the base of a cliff on the north Wales coast, was making a good recovery.