Lee Pitcher MP, Member of Parliament for Doncaster East and the Isle of Axholme, has backed the Mirror's Save Lives for Sam campaign and put pressure on the Government to raise public awareness before the summer holidays. The Labour MP is calling on the public to support the campaign to stop what he describes as a 'national emergency' after 19 people drowned in one week during the last heatwave in May.
Early Day Motion Tabled in Parliament
Pitcher is tabling an Early Day Motion in Parliament, calling on the government to launch a national television and social media campaign on the dangers of swimming in open water, targeted at young people and parents. In a direct plea to the public, he explained: “Early Day Motions are formal motions that only MPs can sign, calling on the government to take action on a specific issue. The more MPs who sign, the harder it is for the government to ignore.”
Personal Story Behind the Campaign
Writing for the Mirror, Pitcher shared his personal motivation. Before his election, he met Simon Haycock, whose son Sam drowned five years ago at Ulley Reservoir in South Yorkshire. Sam was just 16 and had finished his GCSEs when he went to cool off with friends. Safety equipment was locked, and they had to wait for a code to access it. Sam never came home. Pitcher said: “My son phoned me last week to tell me about his plans for the summer. When I hear his voice, I often think of Sam. Sam Haycock was the same age as my boy when I first heard about his story. I made him a promise: if I ever made it to Parliament, I would do something for Sam.”
Sam's Law and the Need for Full Adoption
Last year, Pitcher brought forward Sam's Law, a Private Members' Bill requiring safety equipment at reservoirs, making vandalism of that equipment a criminal offence, and putting water safety education on the national curriculum. It passed its first stage unanimously, and the government adopted part of it by launching a Water Safety Code in schools. However, Pitcher insists that Sam’s Law must be adopted in full as tragedies continue. “In the past few weeks alone, 19 people have lost their lives to drowning during the hot weather. Many of them were children and young adults. Drowning kills more people in this country than cycling accidents, house fires and floods. And yet we still do not treat it as the national emergency it is.”
Call for Action
Pitcher, who spent 25 years in the water industry, emphasises that these deaths are preventable. Scotland has a designated minister for drowning prevention and saw a 10 per cent reduction in deaths, while Wales has followed a similar path. England currently has nothing. The Mirror's Save Lives for Sam campaign, supported by bereaved families, the Royal Life Saving Society UK, RoSPA, Swim England, the National Water Safety Forum, the Swimming Alliance, and Olympic champions Rebecca Adlington and Tom Dean, is calling on the government to take five specific actions. Pitcher urges the public to email their MP to sign the Early Day Motion: “Please share this post far and wide and email your MP asking them to sign it.”
