Dad had to decide which twin would die
Posted June 19th, 2008 by minortopics | via www.news.com.auA father had to make a split second decision on which of his twin children he could save after a canoe accident.
Television presenter Ian Clayton’s nine-year-old daughter Billie died after their canoe capsized, throwing them into fast-flowing water, along with Billie’s twin brother Edward.
Yesterday Mr Clayton, 48, spoke through tears as he told how he had been told by his son to save Billie first.
He desperately tried to lift the canoe clear but couldn’t see Billie and was only able to grab on to Edward.
Buoyed by their lifejackets, Mr Clayton and his son were carried away by the strong current of the River Wye in Powys, Wales.
Yesterday he told the inquest into Billie’s death: “When I got to Edward … he said, ‘Save my sister first’. It’s hard to understand what was going through that little lad’s mind.”