The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
RNLI safety warning after deadly weekend
The RNLI has urged seaside visitors to respect the water following a deadly weekend on British beaches.
Six people, including a woman and her six-year-old son, died in a series of tragedies that hit the nation’s coasts as unseasonably stormy weather blew in.
With a spell of hot temperatures expected and fine weather forecast for the start of the bank holiday, the RNLI repeated warnings for those heading to the seaside.
A spokeswoman said: “The sea may look appealing, and the RNLI would encourage people to use it, but do so safely – it can be dangerously unpredictable.”
The appeal comes after three men, two women and a young child died in separate incidents on Saturday.
A mother and son, who have been named as Julie Walker, 37, and Lucas Walker, six, died in hospital after being pulled from the water and taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary.
Lucas’s brother, Samuel, is making a “steady recovery” in hospital.
In Cornwall, Rudy Bruynius was with wife Lisinda and their two-year-old daughter, McKayla, when they were caught by a large wave.
Mr Bruynius was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead, while McKayla was reported to be in a critical condition.
Joy Godfray was a day away from her 32nd birthday when she died in hospital after getting into difficulty while swimming off Green Island in Jersey at around 8.30pm.
A 67-year-old man died while surfing off the West Mersea coast in Essex. The man, named locally as David Baker, of Colchester, Essex, was an experienced surfer.
A sixth victim, believed to be in his 50s, died after getting into trouble outside the safe swim area at Sandbanks beach in Poole, Dorset, at around 3.30pm.