Open water 'death trap' warning after spate of deaths

1 hour ago

Lynette HorsburghNorth West

News image — Among the recent deaths, a 12-year-old boy drowned in the River Ribble in Lancashire on Tuesday

BBC View of the River Ribble with a farmhouse in the background and sheep in the field beside in and hills and trees in the distance. — Among the recent deaths, a 12-year-old boy drowned in the River Ribble in Lancashire on Tuesday

Even the strongest swimmers must realise all open water beauty spots can be "death traps" and nobody should risk their lives, a woman who lost her son has warned.

Rebecca Ramsay, whose son Dylan drowned at Hill Top Quarry in Chorley, Lancashire, in 2011, said she was "heartbroken for all these families who are now enduring my nightmare".

She was speaking after a series of "devastating" water-related deaths during the recent UK heatwave.

They include a 12-year-old boy who went missing in nearby Ribchester and a 17-year-old whose body was recovered from Pick Mere in Cheshire.

A 15-year-old girl was also in a critical condition after getting into difficulties at Formby beach on Merseyside.

Ramsay, who founded the Doing it for Dylan campaign group, said: "People really need to understand how all open water can be a death trap."

She said unless you are fully trained and have had specialised advice and training, or are taking part in an organised event "then you shouldn't be going into open water places."

Rebecca Ramsay with long auburn hair in a pony tail wearing a pale blue hoodie stands in front of Salford Quays. She is frowning as she describes her heartache at the tragic deaths of teenagers in open water. — Rebecca Ramsay, whose son drowned, said every years sees "tragedy after tragedy"

She continued: "Just because you're able to swim, that does not give you the skill set to swim in open water.

"That's like saying just because I can drive I can drive a Formula 1 car. I can't."

Ramsay has devoted her life to improving water safety since Dylan's death and, after a 12-year-campaign, has had it added to the national school curriculum, which will come into effect from September.

The mother, who received a BEM for her campaign work, said: "There's no end to this - every year it's tragedy after tragedy after tragedy and it's just started so early this year."

Green sign at the entrance to Pick Mere warning 'all users of the open space, lakeside, and lake do so entirely at their own risk'. — A 17-year-old boy's body was recovered from Pick Mere earlier on Wednesday

She said she would like water safety to be taught more consistently so "all children across the board being taught exactly the same thing".

"Organisations, charities, companies, parents, we all need to collaborate and make sure the messages that are going out are exactly the same. We are confusing children.

"We're teaching them to swim but we're not teaching them vital skills of water safety and the sooner that's on the curriculum - which it's going to be in September - the better."

Fire engines and ambulances are at the scene in Ribchester. They are parked alongside other vehicles with a stone house to the right and green fields in the background on a sunny day. — Emergency services have mounted searches for various missing teenagers

Jim Bridge is a former fire fighter and now works for the Greater Manchester Water Safety Strategic Partnership.

He urged people to go to swimming baths rather than risk their lives in open water, with cold water shock potentially kicking in within moments.

"I don't think people understand the danger," he said.

"They see a nice beautiful stretch of open water and they think it's going to be warm like a swimming pool but it's not."

He said an added danger can also be debris under the water which can trap swimmers, as well as contaminants and diseases.

Family photograph Dylan Ramsay wearing a white woolly slouchy hat and turquoise top. — Dylan Ramsay drowned at Hill Top Quarry in Lancashire in 2011

Michael Buratti, Mereyside's coastal operations commander for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency echoed the concerns.

"It's still actually really cold even in temperatures like we have had this week of 30C plus," he said.

"Cold water shock is the body's involuntary response to suddenly entering cold water.

"Please, please speak to your children about the dangers and don't become complacent.

"And if you're visiting open water, whether it be inland or on the coast, with a child please keep an eye on them."

Elsewhere, two teenage boys and a teenage girl died in separate incidents in West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire and Warwickshire on Bank Holiday Monday while a 15-year-old boy drowned in a lake near Lincoln on Sunday.

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