A bereaved dad who is leading the Mirror’s Save Lives for Sam campaign has opened up on the traumatic effects of learning about five deaths in five days as the heatwave continues
Parents are being urged to have life-saving chats with their children about water safety after five deaths in five days in lakes and reservoirs.
The “deeply disturbing” death toll across the UK has prompted renewed calls for action from bereaved families, supporting the Mirror’s ‘Save Lives for Sam’ campaign. The warning comes after coastguards and RNLI teams in the north-west of England reported a spike in incidents as people flock to the seaside amid the heatwave.
Simon Haycock, who is leading the Mirror’s campaign which is backed by the RNLI, Olympic champions and the Royal Life Saving Society UK, is worried the death toll, which has now passed more than 30 in the last few months, is set to rise.
Many of the recent deaths have been in reservoirs, such as the one in Rotherham that claimed the life of his 16-year-old son Sam.
He said: “It’s deeply disturbing. We have got imminent school holidays coming up. Parents must pass the water safety message onto their kids urgently, that conversation is never more important than it is now.
“We don’t need to be adding to these numbers we’ve had this year, they are already horrendous. This year has been the worst year since we lost Sam. “
This week police in Greater Manchester and Derbyshire found the bodies of 18-year-olds in two separate incidents amid the latest 35C heatwave.
Derbyshire Constabulary announced on Friday that the body of an 18-year-old man had been recovered from the water near the weir at the Darley Abbey Mills complex after two teenagers got into difficulty.
In Greater Manchester, police were called to Dovestone Reservoir, Oldham, at around 7pm on Friday. They found a man, 18, who was unresponsive in the water. Despite the efforts of medical staff, he was pronounced dead at the scene.
It followed the death of a 16-year-old who was rescued from the water at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on Thursday evening. He initially responded to treatment but was pronounced dead hours later in hospital.
It came just weeks after the teenager Declan Sawyer, 15, died after getting into trouble in the same water on May 24th during another heat wave.
A 49-year-old man’s body was recovered from Sykes Reservoir, in Stockport, on Thursday.
Matt Black, a crew manager with Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service, said if swimmers got into difficulties in reservoirs, there was often “no escape out of it”.
Last Tuesday 21-year-old Rowan Booth, tragically lost his life in a paddleboarding lake tragedy. His body was recovered from Llyn Geirionydd near Trefriw in North Wales on Tuesday night.
This followed a major operation involving the police, mountain rescue, and underwater teams. His pals are now supporting The Mirror’s Save Lives for Sam water safety campaign.
Rowan, from Prestatyn, worked for DW Property maintenance, was out paddleboarding on the lake when the tragedy happened.
A Gofundme page has been set up for the “crazy lad” who “would happily do anything for anyone for nothing without hesitation”.
Sam’s dad Simon Haycock added: “If we don’t change things now these numbers are going to get higher. The Government must sort this out now. It’s frustrating and really really sad, it gets you downbeat but at the same time it drives me to keep going and visiting schools
“You can’t ignore it and you cannot think it won’t happen to you, it ‘s happening all over the country.” He says the water safety bill, ‘Sam’s Law’, has to get through before September.
Rotherham councillor Jodie Ryalls, who also backs our campaign, said: “I’ve got no words, it’s happening all the time.”
And in a message to local councils, she says: “Stop turning a blind eye and stop acting like this isn’t an issue, it’s massive. The deaths in water are higher than knife crime.
“It’s saddening because it can be stopped. It shouldn’t be happening anyway it’s scary and it’s about time the councils stepped up and realised how big this is.”