Campaigner calls for better open water advice after death near Cambridge
A boy was reported missing one week ago before a body was later found
A campaigner has said more explanation on the dangers of open water swimming in Cambridgeshire is needed to prevent future deaths.
It's one week since a 16-year-old boy went missing after getting difficulty swimming in Burnside Lakes in Cherry Hinton near Cambridge.
The next day, search teams recovered a body believed to be the boy from the lakes.
Water safety campaigner Rebecca Ramsay lost her son Dylan in 2011 after he drowned in a quarry, and believes education is key.
Questions over 'enough advice' to young people
"If a young person wants to climb a fence, they will, but are we giving them enough advice?" she said.
"We're saying 'no swimming' but we're not saying why, we're not telling them about cold water shock or what could happen if they get into trouble in this water.
"When you pass your driving test on the normal roads of Britain, that doesn't entitle you to be able to go out to Silverstone and drive a Formula One car around a Formula One track.
"Just because you've been taught how to swim in a warm, sanitised swimming pool, that doesn't give you the skillset to swim in open water."
In a statement, Cambridgeshire Police said formal identification of the body found at Burnside Lakes has not yet taken place.
The Royal Life Saving Society has this advice for the public to help avoid accidental deaths:
- Call 999 to get help immediately
- Tell the struggling person to float on their back
- Throw them something that floats
"As a grieving mum, I've seen there isn't any support out there for us," Rebecca added.
"I'm going to be making sure schools are ensuring that this is taught because it is now part of the curriculum, and I'm hoping that has a knock-on effect going forward that we do see less lives lost.
"At some point, somebody has to change the narrative so it becomes the norm to wear a lifejacket when you go in the water, and the only way that's going to become the norm is if we continually send those messages out to young people."
It's reported Burnside Lakes are partly owned by Cambridge City Council.