Date: 10/07/2006
High Peak's leisure services teams are giving safety talks to schoolchildren when they visit the borough's pools, to highlight the dangers of swimming in open water such as lakes, rivers, canals and the sea.
Staff at Buxton Spa pool, Glossop Victoria pool and New Mills leisure centre will be promoting the Amateur Swimming Association's (ASA) Get Safe 4 Summer Campaign, which publicizes that a good understanding of water safety is just as important as being able to swim.
As the summer holidays approach, the campaign, which is targeted at children of primary school age (particularly those at Key Stage 2) and their parents, will publicize that swimming in open water is hazardous and very different from swimming at the local pool.
According to the Royal Life Saving Society every 17 hours someone in the UK drowns, and approximately 80% of these occur at inland water sites. Drowning is the third most common cause of accidental death for children in the UK. Pre-school children are most at risk in the home, especially in the bath and around ponds. Older children are more vulnerable at open water sites, usually away from parental supervision.
Councillor John Pritchard, High Peak Borough Council's Executive Member for Community and Social Development, said: "It is quite frightening to know that 75 UK children drowned on holiday abroad last year. We want everyone to be able to enjoy the water but in a safe and sensible way. The safest place to swim or bathe is a beach or swimming pool protected by qualified lifeguards."