Bank holiday warning to #RespectTheWater

On the eve of the last long weekend of the summer, safety campaigners are urging people flocking to the UK’s rivers, lakes, canals and coast to #RespectTheWater and avoid becoming another accidental drowning statistic.

Last year, 226 people accidentally drowned in the UK with 44 of those – almost one fifth – in August.  Saturdays and Sundays in August and July are the peak times for accidental drownings.

Men are at the very heart of the tragedies making up 83% of those lost last year and more 20–24-year-olds drowned than any other age range.

Aston spoke to David Walker, head of leisure safety at Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA).

Photo by Thomas Vimare on Unsplash