Good Morning Britain hosts Ranvir Singh and Tom Swarbrick returned to the ITV programme on Wednesday, May 27, to deliver the latest headlines from across the UK and around the world. At the start of the show, Ranvir announced tragic news: a fifth young person had died after getting into difficulty in the water during the record-breaking weather across the UK. This followed the recovery of a 12-year-old boy's body from a lake in Lancashire, bringing the total number of water-related deaths to six.
Ongoing Search in Cheshire
Tom Swarbrick added that police and fire services were continuing a search in Cheshire after another teenage boy went missing in the water at a popular lake there. Katy Rickitt then shared updates of the ongoing search live from Cheshire, before Ranvir expressed her distress: 'It's absolutely excruciating to hear. We all sympathise and my goodness go there by the grace of God, any of us with young people in our lives.'
Tribute to Declan Sawyer
The hosts then handed over to Nick Dixon, who discussed the death of 15-year-old Declan Sawyer, who tragically drowned on Sunday afternoon after getting into difficulty while swimming at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln. 'Nick, this is absolutely heartbreaking news,' Tom began. Nick replied, 'It's obviously a warm and loving tribute to Declan, but his family have also tried to warn others about the dangers of swimming in these kinds of places here.'
Declan's father, Carl, paid tribute to a 'funny and outgoing young man who loved his fishing and his football'. A statement added: 'He had a very cheeky smile and the personality to match. He was very much loved by his friends and family, and will be missed dearly by many. We would like to raise awareness about children playing near any rivers or lakes in the hot weather. Please can all parents, friends and family make their children aware of the dangers surrounding water.'
Urgent Warning from Experts
Nick continued by noting how tempting it is, particularly during the heatwave, to enter the water to cool down. He described the lake as looking calm and inviting, but stressed that the consequences have been tragic for Declan and others this week. The correspondent then spoke to Mark Baxter from the National Fire Chiefs Council, who issued an urgent warning to viewers.
'Unfortunately, the cold water shock of entering these waters are still really, really cold, even though it's really hot outside with the air temperature,' Baxter said. 'The cold water shock, it'll make you gasping, there'll be shortage of air, your muscles won't be able to swim, and your ability to swim will just completely disappear... We're really urging parents and carers of young people to speak to your children, trying to make them make sensible decisions when they're around the areas of water like this. If you're entering the water for whatever reason, then you get into difficulty, float to live. Put your head, back, ears under the water, arms outstretched, trying to remain calm and call for help.'
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays on ITV1 and ITVX at 6am.
