Stay away from the edge

THE Canal & River Trust is urging people to stay out of the water and to stay away from the edge this summer.

Of the 400 people who drown in the UK every year, more than half the fatalities happen at inland waters such as canals, rivers, lakes, quarries and reservoirs.

Locks and weirs are lovely places to spend time gongoozling – watching boats go by – and listening to the calming sounds of the water.

However, when the weather warms up, people sometimes get into difficulties after jumping into the canals and rivers to cool down.

Locks have hidden ‘shelves’, called cills, which can seriously injure someone should they jump in, while weirs and deeper water can have strong currents which can pull even the strongest swimmers under the water.

The trust is a member of the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF), a voluntary network of organisations working together to reduce waterrelated deaths. It works with fellow members of the NWSF to raise awareness of water safety.