Cooling off isn't worth risking your life

Rivers, lakes, reservoirs and the open sea can seem very inviting during the summer months, especially when we experience heat waves and need an opportunity to cool down. However, open and unsupervised water is not safe, even for the most experienced swimmers, which is why we’ve been working with our Hazardous Area Response Team (HART) to highlight the dangers and sometimes fatal consequences of swimming in open water.

Last summer alone, between June and August 2022 we attended 81 incidents where people had gotten into trouble in open water or drowned. Since the beginning of 2023, we have already attended 47 open water incidents, including some tragic and fatal drownings where young teenagers lost their lives across the region.

As we approach the school summer holidays, our specialist operations teams who attend water related incidents want to warn parents and family members to continue to discourage children and young people from swimming in rivers, lakes and secluded areas of open water.

Special Operations Clinical Lead for HART Joe Tunn, said:

“Our area response team have been trained to provide life-saving medical care in complex and challenging environments. We attend many different high-risk incidents including situations where people have entered open water and got into difficulty, resulting in rescue attempts to get them to safety.

“It can be difficult to perceive the potential risks posed by water, where hazards are often hidden from view and you can’t predict how cold the water might be. If it’s a hot day and you are asked to be careful as the water is cold, to many this might actually sound quite appealing! But entering cold water can cause cold water shock which includes loss of control of breathing and movement, which can quickly lead to people getting into serious difficulties. Swimming in cold water can quickly reduce the stamina of even the strongest swimmers and it is heartbreaking for our staff to know that warmer weather and school holidays will often lead to avoidable tragedies when people enter open water.”

We’re asking the public to think carefully, steer clear of open water and to learn the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) ‘FLOAT to live’ advice. If you see someone getting into difficulty in open water, please call 999 immediately.

LIFE SAVING ADVICE:

If you do get into trouble, the advice from RNLI is ‘FLOAT to live’

F - FIGHT your instinct to panic or swim hard

L - LEAN back in the water to keep airway clear

O - OPEN your body up pushing your stomach up

A - ACTIONS gently move hands and feet to keep afloat

T - TIME in 60-90 seconds, you’ll be able to adjust and control your breathing

REMEMBER!

The dangers lurking below:

Depth of water can be hard to estimate, and people can often get into difficulty on steep sides, slimy banks, hidden debris and underwater currents, which can result in drowning.

The water doesn’t discriminate; you could be the strongest swimmer but flow and tides can be vicious, change in an instant and sweep you away with it.

The sudden cold can cause your body to go into cold water shock and/or lead to hypothermia, making swimming extremely difficult.