RoSPA Press Office : Press Release
February 2, 2004
HEATWAVE CAUSED RISE IN DROWNING TRAGEDIES
Last summer’s heatwave led to a big increase in drownings, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents revealed today as it called for help in preventing further tragedies in years to come.
At least 153 people drowned in June, July and August compared with an average of 135 in the same spell during recent summers, according to provisional RoSPA statistics. The bad news comes at a time when drowning figures have been falling. It shows how hot weather tempts people to take unnecessary risks in an effort to cool off.
The Society is staging a national congress in Brighton on March 29 and 30 so that people responsible for inland waters, beaches and swimming pools can discuss what went wrong and what worked during the sunny spell.
Peter Cornall, RoSPA Head of Water and Leisure, said: “We have now had time to reflect on the problems of last summer. As well as the high number of deaths, there appeared to be an increase in the number of rescues and lost children. It was an extremely busy period for site operators and we all need to learn lessons from their experiences.
“With hotter summers forecast, action needs to be taken now to reduce the number of future tragedies.”
The biggest problem still remains in managing inland open water such as rivers, lakes, ponds, canals and streams where people should not be swimming. Last summer some operators faced pressure to open up potentially dangerous waters for people to swim.
Those responsible for coastal waters had to deal with record temperatures attracting record crowds, thus increasing the likelihood of accidents.
The RoSPA conference – Preventing Tragedies: Lessons Learned - will be held at the Hilton Brighton West Pier Hotel. It is sponsored by the Environment Agency and Sport England and will be opened by Transport Minister David Jamieson, who has responsibility for many water safety issues.
Topics covered will include developing water safety campaigns, safety on school trips, the legal situation, standardising water safety information, targeting “at risk” groups, setting up dedicated water safety sections in local authorities, beach zoning, managing water sports centres and swimming pool safety.
To book or for information, ring 0121 248 2120, e-mail events@rospa.com or visit http://www.rospa.com/water
