More children sign up for sea safety lessons

A sea-based safe swimming project on the Essex coast has seen more children being signed up.

Swim Safe sessions are run by Tendring District Council and aim to teach young people about water safety, survival tactics, how to get help and how to spot dangers.

There have been four fatalities on the Essex coast so far this summer - a family of three that included a seven-year-old boy and his 15-year-old cousin, who died after getting into difficulty in the water at West Mersea.

Eight days later, a man died after getting into difficulty at Frinton-on-Sea.

Emma enrolled her children Teddy, nine and Xander, seven, after growing up on the coast herself and said she wanted to make sure they could use the coast safely.

"It's been really scary seeing everything in the news, and you can drift out quite far, quite quickly, especially in windy conditions," she said.

She said knowing they've been given tools to recognise the changes has made her "feel a bit at ease".

"I took away some knowledge as well, so I can keep them safe," she added.

Rosa, 10, who took part in a session at Clacton-on-Sea with her sister Flora, 8, told the BBC: "I think it's very important, if you go out to sea, then if you get swept away and don't call for help, then you could get seriously hurt"

Her mother, Rosie, from Brightlingsea, said: "We live by the sea and whilst it is a lot of fun, it's really important to understand that it is dangerous as well."

She said she wants to do the sessions annually to make sure they remember the lessons.

"Any awareness that can be brought to how dangerous the sea can be is great because we're all here for a good time; we don't want any more stories like those to happen," she added.

Allyce Clarke, SwimSafe coordinator in Clacton, said more than 100 extra children have been signed up for sessions compared to last year.

"Last year we had a total of 309 children, and this year we're up to 422, and we can still grow," she said.

"We get a lot of children saying, ' But I can swim, I can swim', but it goes the same for children and adults.

"You may be a really strong swimmer in a swimming pool, but it's completely different out there. You've got the tides, the currents, the winds, the rocks underneath you. It's a big, big difference from swimming in the sea to swimming in the swimming pool."

She added: "And it's not just locals that live by the sea; we need holidaymakers, everyone that visits the sea, that message needs to go to everyone."

Will Lodge, corporate communications manager at Tendring District Council, said: "It's so vital we teach our young people how to enjoy the sea safely."

He said the tragic incidents on the coastline "underlines the importance of education and prevention for people who are going into the water".

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