THE death of schoolboy Rhys Jones would not have been prevented by fencing or warning signs near the river where he and his friends were playing, locals say.

And they warn that children simply do not know the dangers of the River Ebbw at Rhiwderin, Rogerstone and Bassaleg; youngsters have played there for generations.

The Argus revisited the spot where Rhys, 12, and pals Daniel Logan, Liam Jeffery and Gethin Davies entered the river.

The swollen waters are believed to have swallowed their makeshift raft on Saturday, and Rhys, from Rogerstone, was swept away.

One boy managed to scramble up the bank to raise the alarm, and after a major search, two others were pulled from the river.

But despite the heroic efforts of police officers trying to save him, Rhys was pronounced dead at Newport's Royal Gwent Hospital.

His three friends who survived, all aged 12, were left in shock.

Ambulance driver Ian Corten, 33, of Rogerstone, knows the area well. He described the river as "unbelievable" and "so dangerous".

"They did put some barriers up once," he said, "round the footbridge, wooden ones. But kids just kicked them down."

Mr Corten said he could not think of any safety measures which would deter youngsters from dicing with death.

"When I was a kid we were always in the river. You won't stop them," he said.

Mr Corten added that the three surviving boys were lucky to get out alive: "They would've been absolutely freezing."

Bryn Thomas, 29, of Cefn Road, Rogerstone, said: "I was not surprised to hear someone had been swept away. It's big-time dangerous out there."

A woman from Rogerstone, who did not want to be named, takes her dogs for a walk along the river every day.

She said: "It's very violent. It can change in a matter of hours."

The woman has known the area well for 14 years and often sees children playing on the riverbank.

"They just don't realise the dangers," she said. "I don't know what safety measure could be put in place. There's no point putting signs up because they won't bother reading them."

Pensioner Den Powell, 70, of Pontymister, was shocked by the incident. He said: "It's such a long stretch of river, I don't know how you would put barriers up along it all.

"You cannot stop boys being boys, can you?"