Drowning prevention week aims to reduce UK water deaths as temperatures heat up

The heatwave in May brought tragedy across the Britain, with a series of drowning incidents leaving families and communities devastated. A total of 19 people lost their lives in open water during the heatwave, including 13 children.Now, as temperatures begin to rise again, the Royal Life Saving Society are educating children and young adults in water safety and lifesaving skills as part of Drowning Prevention Week, which runs 13-20th June 2026.Experts have warned that the public, especially young people, need to learn more about the dangers of open water swimming and many pools across the country are taking part in the annual campaign. TRENDING Stories Videos Your Say GLL, the UK-based social enterprise that operates three swimming facilities in York under the Better brand, is supporting RLSS UK’s Drowning Prevention Week, which runs from June 13 to 20.Abby Greaves is Assistant Manager at Yearsley Swimming Pool, part of Better, which is taking part in school swimming lessons and primary school assemblies to give children the knowledge they need to stay safe around water.She told GB News: The message we want to get across to children is stop and think, stay together and call 999. When they are in danger in the water, or if they accidentally fall in, we want them to be able to float.The key thing for floating is to have your head back, shoulders back, tummy up, and then you can scull with your hands in a star to float. This keeps your face out of the water, and then when you're in trouble, you can shout for help.Every year, children drown when falling into the water or getting into difficulties when swimming. Between 2020 to 2022 and 2023 to 2025, the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) shows that the number of child drowning deaths has increased 67 per cent.On average, over the last 5 years, 723 people drowned in the UK and Ireland each year, with 71 per cent of child drownings happening between May and August, according to the Royal Life Saving Society UK, said Abby Greaves, Assistant Manager at Yearsley Swimming Pool.That's one of the reasons why the campaign is such a big thing and like with the May heatwave, at least 17 adults and children that died during that period of two weeks where it was really hot and that's quite shocking.With the heatwave recently, a lot of people are like going into the rivers to swim, but they're not aware of the dangers associated with that, so we're just trying to inform the children and young adults that people are drowning because they're not considering these dangers of water.People are feeling too hot and they want to cool down and have a quick dip in the river or in the lake, a nearby water source. They jump in, they either hit a rock, or get caught up in the currents, and then they're not strong enough because even strong swimmers struggle.LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:Man arrested after child 'thrown into crocodile enclosure' released as suspect 'unfit for interview''Asylum seekers' from safe Western countries handed benefits and free housing in Britain'Do not touch!' British beachgoers issued warning over 'beautiful' blue sea creaturesDuring swimming lessons and training sessions at Yearsley Swimming Pool, pupils are learning essential self-rescue techniques as well as how to assist others safely in an emergency. Development and Academy swimmers will also take part in supervised sessions wearing pyjamas, helping them experience the challenges of being in the water fully clothed and preparing them to respond effectively should they ever find themselves in difficulty.Nathan Carrington is a Lifeguard at Yearsley Swimming Pool. He recently won the YO1 Radio Sportsperson of the Year Award in the disability category after he represented Britain at the Tokyo Deaf Olympics. He competed in seven events, placing 13th at the highest and 20th at the lowest.He told GB News that the advice is to stick to swimming pools or places with a lifeguard on duty due to the risk open water poses.Lifeguards undergo multi-training to occur in order to save lives and prevent drowning. This can be quite dangerous because, if you are underwater, you can't breathe at all, Nathan added.So you are holding your breath all the time, but also the power and the force of the water will always go against you. You can't beat the force of water, it will go through anything it wants to go through, so having those dangers is also a risk.You don't see the currents underneath, so you don't know how rough it's going to be. If it's not clear, you don't know what's on the floor, you don't know if there's weeds that you can get stuck in, and with the weather, you don't know how rough it's going to be.Swimmers at Yearsley Swimming Pool can learn to swim at any age, and for George Rhodes, it's a vital life skill.He has been swimming at Yearsley Swimming Pool since 1953 and learnt to swim at the same pool when he was three years old.Swimming in itself is so good for you, and everybody should swim, because if you don't, things can happen to people, as we know in the rivers, in the sea, anywhere, and accidents do happen, he said.But you've got to be aware of how dangerous water is. Learn to swim and you're fine. As long as you teach the children more and get them swimming properly, it's the only way to save lives.Yearsley Swimming Pool is part of GLL/Better, the largest swimming lesson provider in the UK, with over 140 pools.As a social enterprise, GLL offers concessionary swim school memberships, and all swim school memberships include access to other swimming sessions. More information is available HERE.Ashley Jones, Head of Water Safety Education at RLSS UK, said the organisation is grateful to GLL for their support in amplifying Drowning Prevention Week's key water safety messages nationwide.He added: By working together, we can all help create communities free from drowning. The Water Safety Code is designed to be simple, clear, and easy to remember, equipping people, especially young children and teenagers, with the knowledge they need to stay safe around water, as well as the confidence to make vital early decisions and save lives in an emergency. You can find the RLSS UK resources HERE. Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter