The mother of Joe Abbess, who drowned in the sea off Bournemoth beach, is determined to make sure he did not die in vain by creating a lifesaving legacy for him.

A day at the seaside on Wednesday, May 31, to enjoy the sunny weather ended in tragedy when the 17-year-old got into difficulty in the water along with several other people.

Sadly he later passed away in hospital - despite the best efforts from emergency services including Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

Dorset Echo: A photo of Joe Abbess taken by his friend Ben McKinnon.

Now, three months on, Joe's mum Vanessa Abbess says the family have set up a fundraiser to give back to the air ambulance crews which tried to save his life.

Speaking about her son's future, Mrs Abbess said: "Joe was very caring and considerate, which is why I want to raise money and awareness in his memory.

“He would want me to do it as he wouldn’t want this sort of thing to happen to anyone else.”

This comes after City College Southampton - where Joe was doing a catering course - dedicated its culinary student of the year award to him, naming it the Joe Abbess Memorial Award.

Vanessa said: “Joe was training to be a chef. He had plans and he knew what he wanted to do.

“It’s such a shame his dreams and ambitions can’t be fulfilled because he should have been famous for opening his own restaurant one day. It’s cruel that dream can’t be fulfilled."

Dorset Echo: Joe Abbess

The fundraiser will take place at Snap Fitness Gym in Woolston on Saturday, September 23 – where Joe trained four times a week – where those in attendance can attend free gym classes, donate money to charity, and win a variety of raffle prizes.

Mrs Abbess said: “We want to raise money for Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance who looked after Joe at the scene.

She said: "The Dorset Air Ambulance team have been a massive support to our family and have been really helpful following on from the incident as well, writing to us afterwards.

“The work they do is vital. As a parent you want to know your child was looked after and I am very confident he was in great hands, and they did the very best they could for him.”

Joe's family have already raised £1,300 for Hampshire Air Ambulance, which helped Sunnah Khan, 12, from Buckinghamshire, who also died in the tragedy.

Mrs Abbess has also called for better education on the dangers of water, telling the Echo: “Nature can be incredibly unpredictable, and things change in the sea very fast.

“Joe was swimming in waist-high water and wasn’t doing anything wrong, circumstances and the ferocity of the sea made things happen very quickly.

“The Royal Lifesaving Society work really hard to educate people on how to enjoy the water safely, but if this is something that can be taught at an early age, we can help people in the future.”

Mrs Abbess said she was considering more options to carry on Joe's legacy further down the line, including working with The Royal Lifesaving Society.

The inquest into Joe's death has been adjourned until September 18 at 2pm.