Sussex expert’s warning over water safety amid drownings
Water-related deaths on the increase, forum’s report reveals
Deaths by drowning in the UK are still rising because people are unaware of the dangers of water, according to an expert from the University of Chichester.
A recent report by the National Water Safety Water Forum revealed there were 254 accidental drownings in the country in 2020, an increase of 31 on the previous year.
And there were 12 separate fatal incidents across the UK in the week up to July 22 amid the summer heatwave.
University of Chichester academic Dr Jenny Smith, one of the world’s 36 leading women on drowning-prevention, is calling for water safety to be enhanced in the curriculum.
She said: “Up to 45 per cent of deaths are of people who weren’t intending to be in the water in the first place – walking near cliffs or walking home after a night out.
“Sadly, children are overrepresented in the drowning statistics and education is vital to informing young people about the hazards in and around water.
“Learning to swim as young as possible and constant supervision is integral, but there is limited information on water safety on the curriculum – that needs to change.”
Up to 235,600 worldwide deaths are caused by water each year, according to the World Health Organisation.
It also estimates that drowning accounts for a greater loss of life annually than maternal mortality or malnutrition.
Lee Heard, the charity director of Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), said the key to safety was not about staying away from water but enjoying it safely.
He added: “RLSS UK research shows that over 55 per cent of parents said they would not be confident their child would know what to do if they fell into open water – and that’s why we are campaigning to enhance water safety in the national curriculum.
“Drowning does not discriminate and nor should our approach to water safety education but as we’ve seen from the tragic deaths in the last week, drowning affects people at all ages.”
Many people across the country are scared of water, according to a 2016 report into aquaphobia by Dr Smith and RLSS UK, which revealed:
- More than eight million people in the UK have a fear of water
- 18million people in the UK cannot swim more than 25 metres
- 12.9million in the UK are afraid to take part in any form of swimming.
As well as calling for better water safety education, Dr Smith, together with RLSS UK and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, is developing lifeguard-training to improve safety at UK pools and beaches.
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