An urgent warning has been issued after six children drowned during the Bank Holiday heatwave. Experts are calling for schools to deliver open water safety lessons immediately, ahead of the six-week summer holidays.
The family of 15-year-old Declan Sawyer, who died in Swanholme Lakes near Lincoln on Sunday, urged others to be aware of the dangers of open water. His father Carl described him as a 'funny and outgoing young man' and pleaded with parents to warn children about the risks of playing near rivers or lakes in hot weather.
Other tragedies include a teenage boy who went missing at a country park in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, on Bank Holiday Monday; a 13-year-old named locally as Reco who drowned in Leadbeater Dam near Halifax, West Yorkshire; and the body of a 12-year-old boy recovered from the River Ribble in Lancashire. In Dublin, 15-year-old Abbie Carmody-Pepper died while bathing at Burrow Beach, and a 16-year-old girl known as Lil died at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire.
The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) is urging schools to act now, warning that waiting until September could lead to further tragedy. While water safety education will be included in England's curriculum from September, the charity says the information needs to be taught immediately. Professor Karen Luyt from the National Child Mortality Database noted that 196 children died by drowning between 2019 and 2025, with over half occurring in summer months and 37% in inland waters.
