Urgent warning as six children die in open water in one tragic Bank Holiday weekend
Parents are being urged to speak out
A tragic warning has been issued after six children drowned during the Bank Holiday heatwave. Experts are urging schools to deliver open water safety lessons as soon as possible, before the six-week summer holidays.
It comes as the family of a 15-year-old boy who died in a lake have urged others to be aware of the dangers of open water. Declan Sawyer was found in Swanholme Lakes, near Lincoln, on Sunday as scorching hot temperatures hit the UK.
After paying tribute to their “darling boy” Declan’s family urged parents and others to speak out about the risks of open water to children. There has also been torment for five other families in the UK and Ireland in recent days, the Mirror reports.
A teenage boy “went missing in water” while cooling off at a popular country park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Bank Holiday Monday. Police later confirmed that a body has been recovered after an overnight search.
A 13-year-old, named locally as Reco, was pulled from the water after he drowned in Leadbeater Dam near Halifax, West Yorkshire. His distraught father has begged the “two lads” who tried to save Reco to come forward. Yesterday (May 26), police, fire crews, search and rescue teams and paramedics swarmed Pickmere Lake in Cheshire as a major search operation has been launched for a missing person.
The body of a child was recovered from the River Ribble in Lancashire. Lancashire Police said the body is believed to be that of a 12-year-old boy who got into difficulty while swimming with friends at Ribchester.
Abbie Carmody-Pepper, also 15, lost her life while bathing at Burrow Beach, Sutton, Dublin, this weekend. Her death came hours after the body of a teenage girl was retrieved from the water at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire. Flowers were placed at the location in memory of the victim, identified locally only as Lil, who was said to be 16-years-old.
A drowning prevention charity demanded schools get open water safety on the curriculum now – as it could be too late by the time lessons start next year. The Royal Life Saving Society fear waiting until September could have serious consequences following the deaths of the teenagers over the Bank Holiday weekend.
While education bosses are committed to supporting the plan, the organisation has told them to act fast to prevent further tragedy. They said: “RLSS UK contributed to reaching a significant milestone towards its goal of embedding lifesaving education in classrooms across all nations with the inclusion of water safety education in England’s RHSE curriculum. Whilst a foundation of water safety will be included in England’s school curriculum from September, this vital information needs to be taught now across the UK to prevent tragedies.
“We can all contribute to creating communities free from drowning. We urge parents, carers, teachers, and community providers to use RLSS UK’s free, accessible water safety resources to educate children and teens with critical information today so that everyone can have a safe summer.”
Declan’s father Carl paid a heartbreaking tribute to a “funny and outgoing young man” and doesn’t want any other parents to go through the same ordeal with the heatwave set to last until the weekend. “He had a very cheeky smile and the personality to match. He was very much loved by his friends and family, and will be missed dearly by many,” he said.
“We would like to raise awareness about children playing near any rivers or lakes in the hot weather. Please can all parents, friends and family make their children aware of the dangers surrounding water.”
Declan Sawyer
A fire service has pin-pointed the dangers about swimming in open water following a surge in deaths in recent years. Professor Karen Luyt, Programme Director for the National Child Mortality Database and Professor of Neonatal Medicine at the University of Bristol, said: “The tragic cases of drowning are shocking – but unfortunately not surprising.
“NCMD data from a recent thematic report on traumatic deaths showed that over half of child deaths due to drowning occurred in the summer months, and around 37 per cent were in inland bodies of water like rivers or lakes. 196 children died by drowning between 2019 and 2025, and all of those deaths were preventable.
“There’s so much more that could be done to keep children safe. For the last three years the NCMD has been calling for an urgent and focused agenda to address inequalities in access to swimming and water safety lessons. Our data shows that children living in the most deprived neighbourhoods are disproportionately the victims of drowning, and this sets a clear scope for interventions that could be quickly deployed to make a difference. Practical and experiential learning, as well as water safety programmes outdoors, have been shown to support water safety.
“The government could also do more to understand the evolving risk that drowning poses to children. The government should be making the most of their expertise, and ensuring that these productive conversations are cross-departmental.”We all have a part to play in highlighting the danger of drowning earlier in the year. This week’s weather has been unprecedented, and is an unprecedented reminder to government, charities and families that it is never too early in the year to start prioritising water safety for children.”
Robert Hulatt, the head of prevention at Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Service, warned that people must not assume that because they can swim in a swimming pool, they can cope with the challenges of rivers, lakes, quarries and waterways – and says the “hidden dangers” make them perilous.
“Even on a warm day the temperature in open water can remain very cold, causing cold water shock, a physical reaction which can make it difficult to control breathing, cause panic and make it difficult to swim,” the group commander said.
“We want everyone to enjoy themselves around water, but it’s crucial to remember that water can be unpredictable and dangerous. By following some simple safety tips, we can significantly reduce the risk of drowning.”
An alarming study showed an increase in drowning among low-income and ethnically diverse children. Research pointing to a need for greater government involvement, with one in four children leaving school unable to swim.
“It is essential that water safety education and experience for children should be taken forward regionally and nationally,” Lee Heard, charity director at RLSS UK, said last year.
“There is a requirement to nationally revise and reform the current approach to swimming and water safety education. We need to tackle the clear disparity for low-income and ethnically diverse children who are being missed by the current statutory efforts and are overrepresented in child-drowning deaths.”
