The mother of an 18-year-old boy who died while swimming in the sea after suffering an epileptic fit has blamed scout leaders supervising the trip after repeatedly telling them to keep him away from deep water.

Lombard Manuel Perez died off the coast between Portofino and Camogli in the north-western Italian region of Liguria on 13th August while on a scout trip.

The teen went into the sea with a group of friends and reportedly suffered an epileptic fit before drowning.

The teen’s mother Fara Musella, 45, told the newspaper Corriere della Sera: “Manuel suffered from epilepsy and the deep-water triggered a fit.

“We told the scout group he was travelling with time and again: he can do most things but don’t let him go anywhere near deep water, it is absolutely forbidden.

“He ended up having a crisis, it’s true. But if his feet were on solid ground that day, he would be here now.

“Manuel died because those watching him did not respect his limitations, his frailties.”

The scout group, originally from the city of Vimercate in the Lombardy region, left the town of Pavia on 9th August.

For Manuel, it was the first trip he had been on since the COVID-19 lockdown.

Fara said: “When the Port Authority called me, I struggled to connect the word ‘sea’ with my son’s name because that link should never have been there.

“I asked the scout leader on WhatsApp ‘why did you let him go in deep water if we asked you not to?’ He replied that Manuel was so happy… that he thought he could keep the situation under control. They are all telling me that he is in shock, but what about us? How should we feel?”

Manuel’s parents said they have yet to decide whether to sue the scout leaders for negligence, adding: “We will talk with our lawyer in the next few days.

“We believe that the public prosecutor’s office and the Port Authority have opened an investigation so we will decide soon.”