Water safety experts warn of dangers of outdoor swimming as heatwave grips UK

Water safety experts have warned about the dangers of outdoor swimming after a spike in drownings as people try to escape soaring temperatures by cooling off in rivers, lakes, reservoirs and other bodies of water.

In recent days, emergency services have reported at least seven deaths because of water-related incidents, with six involving young people, as Britain’s heatwave sends crowds of people to the seaside and other swimming spots.

On Wednesday, Cheshire Constabulary said they had recovered a body after searching for a 17-year-old boy who was last seen in the water at Pick Mere, a lake in Northwich. Earlier this week, a teenage girl and four boys died in separate incidents in Yorkshire, Warwickshire, Lincolnshire and Lancashire.

And on Monday, a man in his 60s died after suffering cardiac arrest having entered the water at Tregirls Beach near Padstow, in Cornwall, to help two relatives who had got into trouble.

Dr Heather Massey, an associate professor in extreme environments and physiology at the University of Portsmouth, urged parents to ensure children visited supervised swimming locations where lifeguards were on hand, and that they knew what to do if they or others got into difficulty in the water.

Deaths from drowning often spike in May as hot weather arrives and more people head to open water locations to cool down. Many fatalities are thought to be triggered by cold water shock as the water remains very cold even when the air temperature soars.

“Unfortunately, this is something we see every year,” Massey said. “It’s a known problem when the air temperature increases rapidly but the water is still very cold. At this time of year, it hasn’t had time to warm up.”

People should be aware of what to do if someone in their vicinity gets into difficulty in the water. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA

Data published on Wednesday by the UK’s National Water Safety Forum revealed that the number of people who died in water-related incidents last year rose in May and remained high until the end of August. The vast majority of those who drown are young men and more than half occur in inland waterways rather than on the coast.

“It’s important people are aware of the water being cold,” Massey said. “If you’ve been on a beach or by the side of a river and you’ve been in the sun for some time, your skin is going to be really hot. But some of our waterways may still be very cold, and when you enter the water, the rapid reduction in skin temperature triggers involuntary gasps and rapid breathing and a big increase in heart rate.”