Bereaved family aim to reach out
Berkshire: Boy’s inquest hears of water safety education
The inquest of Sean Norbert Anyanwu, who died in Bray Lake aged 16 last year, concluded last week with an exploration into what will be done to try to prevent more untimely deaths.
Sean drowned on July 18 after getting into difficulty in the water. He was a Cox Green School student, a
Year 11 pupil who had completed GCSE exams shortly before the tragedy.
Heidi J Connor, senior coroner for Berkshire drew a conclusion of ‘accidental death’ from the evidence presented at the inquest.
On Thursday, March 9, Andrew Aldridge, community safety manager at Royal Borough, spoke about the partnerships being formed to attempt to stop similar tragedies in the future.
A water safety partnership is looking into how to best educate young people about the dangers of waters like Bray Lake and the Thames, which has claimed other young lives.
The partnership includes the Royal Borough Fire and Rescue Service, Thames Valley Police, the Royal Borough, the Environment Agency among others.
Work is ongoing in the build-up to summer, when the risk of such incidents is greater.
Leisure Focus, which runs leisure centres across Windsor and Maidenhead, is also looking to promote water safety among young people.
Meanwhile, schoolchildren are also receiving water safety sessions run by the fire service, which is also stepping up patrols in hotspot areas.
Banners with information are being put outside secondary schools, and
Olympic swimmer Tom
Dean is preparing a campaign around water safety, which is set to be filmed in April.
Under the understanding that it is difficult to stop people going into the water, part of the focus will be advice as to how to keep safe (swim in areas around other
people who could help) and what to do if you get into trouble in the water.
Police already carry throw lines to pass to people struggling in the water. Both police and PCSOs are receiving training on using these.
There will also be social media and radio campaigns, including from the Environment Agency and a fourweek social media campaign by the Royal Borough.
The council has been looking at putting signs along the 25 or so miles of the Thames that travels through the area under its authority.
It has also been liaising with its Youth Council to try to better reach its target audience.
It has been looking at the use of things like QR codes or other technical platforms that may be more appealing to young people.
“In the old days we’d put a sign up for everything, but we need to explore other ways to reach out,” said Mr Aldridge.
“We’re starting to capture the young people’s voice and some good ideas have come from that.”
Mrs Connor agreed this was the right approach – and given that young people often do not read safety and information signs, that
‘can’t be the answer to all of this.’
She also enquired about the most effective way to use social media.
“With the greatest respect, I do wonder how many 17year-olds would be reading tweets from the Environment Agency,” she said.
Mrs Connor suggested that the social media platform TikTok, given its popularity with young people in particular, might be a good angle of approach.
She approved of the use of the RBWM Youth Council, which she felt has the capacity to come up with ideas ‘we may not even think about’.
It was established that Sean’s family would like to be involved in the education of young people on river safety, and will make contact with the Royal Borough to do so.
Mrs Connor said this would ‘put a very human face’ on the tragedy that would help the message.
“[Young people] can see it’s not just their parents nagging them, it could happen,” she said.
Summing up, Mrs Connor said that she could ‘safely say there was no blame to be considered’ in this particular tragedy.
“So many young people think they are invincible and the risks their parents warn them about could never happen to them,” she said.
“I have nothing but praise for the emergency services involved. Their response was rapid and they showed a very high level of expertise.”
Mrs Connor will be writing to the Royal Borough, inviting it to confirm in writing the measures it intends to adopt. Typically, bodies receiving this letter should respond within 56 days.
“I deal with sad stories every day but some hit me more than others, and Sean’s is one of them,” Mrs Connor said.
W Throughout the spring and summer, the Advertiser will be working with agencies and emergency services to spread the water safety message.