Local children will receive vital water safety advice this week, as leisure centres and schools across the county join forces to help prevent another summer of drowning tragedies. 

Drowning is a leading cause of accidental death for children in the UK, with latest stats showing that in the last five years 48 children aged nine and under drowned, and 147 young people aged 10 to 19 lost their life.

The summer months are a particularly high-risk time of year. Last year, 85 people accidentally drowned in July and August alone.

Around 400 leisure centres across the UK, along with schools, community groups, and businesses have signed up to host targeted water safety activities as part of the RLSS UK’s national Drowning Prevention Week campaign, meaning hundreds of thousands of children will be taught how to stay safe near water this summer.

Parents are being urged to contact their local leisure centre or school to see if they are running any water safety activities. If there is nothing happening in your area, visit www.rlss.org.uk for water safety advice. 
Drowning Prevention Week, the national campaign run by the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), runs between June 16-26. 

The drowning prevention charity has produced a host of resources to help leisure centres and schools deliver water safety in the hope that, by spreading messages far and wide, the number of tragic drownings which occur every year will reduce.

This year, as part of the campaign, the RLSS UK launched the Adopt a School scheme, asking parents and volunteers to visit the head of their local primary school and encourage them to run water safety activities for all pupils. The volunteers would be ready to help and explain how best to use the charity’s water safety resources - from classroom based workshops to outdoor PE sessions.

For more information on Drowning Prevention Week – Visit the website at www.rlss.org.uk; Follow it on Twitter - @RLSSUK; Visit the Facebook page – www.facebook.com/RLSSUK; Call – 0300 3230 096