Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘He was a bright, happy boy’: Durness community mourns boy, 11, killed in quad bike accident

Charlie Morrison
Charlie Morrison, 11, was killed in an accident near Durness. Image: Police Scotland.

An 11-year-old boy has been killed in a quad bike accident near his home in Durness.

Charlie Morrison, who has been described as a “bright, happy boy”, died on Tuesday.

It is understood he was making his way between his home and his grandparents’ croft when the tragedy happened just before 4.30pm.

Emergency services were called to the scene, but the youngster could not be saved.

Durness Primary School was shut today as a mark of respect, and to help Charlie’s classmates come to terms with the news.

The rest of the community is also in mourning, describing the accident as a “absolutely devastating.”

It is understood Charlie was riding a quad bike at the time of the accident. Image: Sandy McCook / DC Thomson

Graeme Smart, head teacher of North West Sutherland schools, said: “The whole North West Sutherland schools community is devastated by the tragic news of the death of one of our pupils.

“He was a bright, happy boy who loved being in the outdoors, had a real love for technology and model making and a curiosity about how things worked.

“He was a much loved and valued part of our school group and the schools are sadder places this morning.

“The whole community is deeply shocked by this terrible accident and our thoughts are with the family at this time.”

Durness Primary and Nursery was closed today following the tragic news about Charlie Morrison. Picture: Ross Hempseed/DC Thomson

‘No one can put into words what has happened’

Local councillor Hugh Morrison described Tuesday’s events as “a tragic accident”.

“It’s a rare event for something like this to happen here, but that doesn’t take away from it, it’s a life that has been lost and that’s the important thing,” he said.

“Everybody knows everybody so you can imagine everyone has been affected whether in a slight way or a big way.”

Charlie was an only child, living in what has been described a “remote hamlet”.

Mr Morrison said the community would come together to support his family through this time, adding: “It’s very difficult for them, no words can comprehend what has happened. No matter what you say, it’s difficult.

“People are thinking of the family, that’s all you can do. No one can put into words what has happened, we just have to be there to support them if needed and rally round them, it was a tragic accident.”

Mr Morrison explained it was likely Charlie landed on boulders after being thrown off the bike. The councillor also paid tribute to the emergency services, many of whom knew the youngster personally.

He said: “If he had landed on the grass, it would have probably been a less serious result. It is just terribly unfortunate and very unlucky how he landed and on boulders, which seems to have had fatal consequences.

“Charlie was wearing a helmet and was always very safety conscious.

“I would like to especially pay tribute to all the emergency services who attended – including the fire service, coastguards and ambulance personnel – because many of them would have known Charlie personally. They dealt with this tragedy professionally, but it also deeply affected them personally. It was a difficult day that will live for them for ever.”

Investigation ongoing

A shop owner who is friends with Charlie’s parents said they were “absolutely devastated” by the tragic incident.

Another local added: “As you’d expect the whole community is devastated.”

Sergeant Christopher Donaldson, from the road policing unit at Dingwall said: “Our thoughts are with Charlie’s family and friends at this very difficult time.

“Police inquiries are continuing to establish the exact circumstances surrounding this crash.”

Conversation