Retailers to carry safety advice as part of Simon's legacy

Retailers and the sports governing body have agreed to introduce changes to the information provided when people buy a new paddleboard - which is currently the UK's fastest growing watersport.

Simon Flynn, 42, from Cheltenham, drowned last Summer when his ankle leash got trapped under a boat mooring in Cornwall's Camel Estuary in moving water.

The competent swimmer - who did a lot of water sports and surfing - was unable to get free after the leash became entangled and pulled him under the water.

Simon's best friend Sam Foyle, believes Simon would have survived if he was wearing a quick-release waist belt - and wants all paddleboards to be sold with both types of leash as standard.

Campaigner Sam Foyle meets Lee Pooley from paddleboarding's governing body British Canoeing to discuss the current guidance on leashes

At the moment most paddleboards just come with an ankle leash and there is also differing advice online about the different leashes and when to wear them.

During Simon's inquest the coroner suggested what happened was an 'issue for manufacturers' that should be looked at.

We arranged for a meeting between Sam and paddleboarding's governing body British Canoeing (see above) which is now updating their guidance on leashes and producing a new infographic for retailers to display.

British Canoeing say Decathlon, Lidl, Cotswolds and Aquaplanet have all agreed to highlight the updated advice once the new official guidance is released in the coming weeks. It is hoped other retailers will follow suit.

Best friend Sam said: "The overall cost of a quick release belt is somewhere between £15 and £25 and that's just buying them individually.

"When you're talking of a 'cheap' board at £300 and a high-end board at £1,500 the scale of that and the importance of it, I think voids it (the cost) into insignificance really."

Mr Flynn, 42, a tutor from near Cheltenham, died after falling off his paddleboard in August last year - while out alongside his partner Chia in the Camel Estuary near Rock in Cornwall.

Campaigner Sam says Simon would have 'hated' for something similar to happen to anyone else. He believes manufacturers and retailers will listen to British Canoeing once guidance is updated and issued - welcoming their efforts to make the sport safer.

British Canoeing have published some updated leash guidance on their website after reviewing the existing information over the past few weeks.

Head of Safety Lee Pooley said: "We've seen a significant increase in the amount of people taking to the waters on stand up paddleboards.

"What we've seen over the last several months is that people's understanding of what leash they should be wearing needs more work on it."

For more about the paddleboard leash safety campaign in Simon's legacy click here

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