Police in Ayrshire are supporting the Royal Life Saving Society’s Drowning Prevention Week which runs from the 15th to the 25th of June 2018.
The campaign aims to reduce the number of drowning and near-drowning incidences that occur in the UK every year, by showing people how to be safe and have fun near water.
Sadly 255 people lost their lives in accidental drownings in the UK in 2017, and 85% of these occurred in ‘open water’ sites.
PC Johnson, Safer Communities Officer for North Ayrshire, said:
“As part of this national campaign we are continuing to provide our water safety advice and would encourage local residents to share the advice with their family and friends.
“Open water sites include lochs, reservoirs, quarries, rivers and the sea. They vary in size but are commonly large expanses of deep and cold water that are unsupervised and have - by their very nature – hidden dangers such as submerged objects and unstable banks.
“Our advice is not to swim in such places and to be aware of the potential dangers when near them.”
The Royal Life Saving Society offers the following advice:
DON’T: - Swim at unsupervised sites (with no lifeguard) - Jump into the water until you have acclimatised to the water temperature - Jump into the water from height - Swim where deep water will be colder - Drink alcohol and then swim - Ignore signs or instructions about specific dangers
If someone is in difficulty in the water:
- Shout reassurance to them, shout for help, and ensure the emergency services are contacted by calling 999 and asking for the Coastguard. - Without endangering yourself see if you can reach them by throwing a buoyancy aid to them such as a life ring. - Keep your eye on them at all times.
Further advice can be found at: https://rlss.org.uk/abo…/campaigns/drowning-prevention-week/