A swimming club is offering water safety sessions to children and their parents in a bid to stop further people losing their lives. Last weekend, a man in his 20s died after getting into difficulty at Cullercoats Bay in North Tyneside. Earlier this month, two men died while helping two children who had got into difficulty in the sea at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool. A 19-year-old man is also believed to have died in the water near Boulmer, Northumberland, after a kayak capsized.
Club's initiative after recent tragedies
In the last four years, three teenage boys have also lost their lives in the River Tyne in Ovingham, Northumberland. Blyth Lifeguard and Swimming Club patrol the beach in Blyth, Northumberland, and offer water safety sessions to both children and their parents. Lifeguard Captain Michele Weedy said a lot of children and adults do not have the knowledge they need to keep themselves safe at the beach. They aim to warn as many people as possible about the dangers of the water.
Lifeguard's warning about rip currents
The 50-year-old, who lives in Blyth, said: "Recently we have had four deaths on our coast in the last month. That is really quite scary. It's not always the non-swimmers that lose their lives. It tends to be the have-a-go rescuers or the youngsters who are having fun and just don't understand the power of water." She added: "There's a society of people that just don't understand. They don't understand what rip currents are, how they're formed and they don't understand the power of the sea. They don't even take into consideration the wind."
"You see kids running down to the water edge and the parents are nowhere to be seen. It takes a second for the sea to wipe somebody off their feet as an adult never mind a child. A rip current pulls them straight out. The flat water right in the centre of the rip is the bit that will drag them out to sea fairly quickly. Even on a flat day you can still see a rip current - but only if you know what you're looking for."
Coach's concerns about lack of knowledge
Casey Robinson, who is a coach at the club, said they are concerned by the number of water related deaths in the North East during July. The 27-year-old mum-of-two, from Blyth, said: "It just seems in the last couple of weeks it's become rife. There's always been drownings but it's been closer to home in the last couple of weeks. It's awful because you think a lot of it is lack of knowledge. It's so dangerous if they don't understand."
"I think a lot of parents are naïve. If they don't go in the sea regularly they don't know how strong it is. They think it will be fine as they are only in to their knees. But a strong undercurrent can knock an adult off their feet, never mind a child. They just don't have that knowledge or respect for the ocean really. We're just trying to constantly warn people and advise them and offer some kind of inside into the risk."
Lowering age for water safety lessons
The club has dropped the age at which children can join from six years old to five years old. They are offering parents the chance to learn about water safety while their children are taking part in lessons. Michele said: "The parents learn about the currents, the rips and the power of the sea while the children are doing water safety lessons on the beach. It worked really well last year. So we've dropped the age this year to five years old."
"We have got a few five year olds on the course this year and they're just having so much fun. Hopefully we educate the parents as well as keep the children safe at the beach. It becomes family environment and I think families get so much out of it. We all want to ensure that everybody has fun and more importantly goes home at the end of the day."
