As the Fens and the rest of Cambridgeshire prepares for the hottest day of the year – and probably the hottest for a decade- a stark warning has been issued to stay out of unsafe waterways.

Cambs Times: Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John,Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John, (Image: Archant)

Cambridgeshire fire and rescue launched their ‘Remember Rony’ safety warning a year after 15 year-old Rony John died in a swimming tragedy at Hartford near Huntingdon.

“Rony was not a strong swimmer but jumped into the River Ouse while playing with friends,” said a fire service spokesman. “After getting into difficulty in the water, and despite his friends’ best efforts to safe him, he sadly drowned.”

#RememberRony is a campaign by Cambridgeshire Fire and rescue Service, supported by Rony’s family, to provide education to children about the dangers of waterways and to prevent further tragedies like this happening again.

Last night a Chatteris man, who daily parks about a 100 yards from where Rony drowned to then walk to work, recalled that tragic day.

Cambs Times: Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John,Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John, (Image: Archant)

“The emergency services were still on-site looking for him when I got back to the car in the evening and had, very sadly, found his body before I returned the next morning,” he said.

“As I continued that same journey over the following days and weeks I saw friends leaving tributes, people coming to grieve and posters advertising the memorial service for Rony. I read some of them. They were very moving.

“As the weeks went on, I saw the physical tributes fade away; the flowers wilted and the balloons deflated.

“But I knew that he wouldn’t fade in the minds of his family, his friends and his teachers. No child deserves to become a cautionary tale, but I do still ‪#‎RememberRony‬ without ever knowing the boy. Stay safe.”

Cambs Times: Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John,Memorial celebration to remember Huntingdon student Rony John, (Image: Archant)

Last night also Abellio Greater Anglia was one of a number of train companies to warn of possible delays because the extreme heat that is forecast is likely to cause track metal to expand.

A handful of trains will be cancelled and additional stops will be introduced in to some other services – full details can be found at www.abelliogreateranglia.co.uk

Infrastructure owner Network Rail is to impose a reduced speed limit on that section of the line – weather forecasters are warning that temperatures in and near the capital could hit 35C on Wednesday afternoon.

Cambs Times: Rony John, flowers laid at Hartford Riverside,Rony John, flowers laid at Hartford Riverside, (Image: Archant)