Mothers of Bournemouth beach drownings back water safety campaign
17-year-old Joe Abbess and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan died last May
Two mothers, whose children drowned off Bournemouth beach, are hoping their tragic stories will help save a life this summer.
17-year-old Joe Abbess from Southampton and 12-year-old Sunnah Khan from High Wycombe got into trouble in a rip current last May.
Vanessa Abbess and Stephanie Williams are backing a Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS UK) campaign calling for better water safety education.
Vanessa said: "I hope that through sharing the painful story of Joe and Sunnah, we are able to reach as many people as possible – and potentially save lives by educating others on the importance of water safety, because it can really happen to anyone!"
Stephanie explains why they wanted to take part in the campaign:
“Although difficult to speak about, we wanted to do the video to honour Sunnah and Joe’s lives and highlight just how important it is to be aware of the dangers of water. If anything I say reaches even one person and changes something for the better, I’d like to.”
RLSS UK data shows a total of 125 children have accidentally lost their lives to drowning in the last five years – with 26 drownings taking place in 2023 alone.
The data also shows that 66% of these drownings were teenagers, those aged between 13 and 17 years.
Matt Croxall, Charity Director at RLSS UK, said:
“We hope this all-important video educates and resonates with parents across the UK and urges them to have the water safety conversation with their children. We can’t thank Vanessa and Stephanie enough for their incredible bravery speaking out and sharing their tragic stories with others, in the hopes to make a difference and save even just one life.
“The alarming increase in tragic child drowning deaths in England also highlights just how important it is that families are aware of the importance of water safety and have the correct knowledge to make the right decisions around water.
“With warmer summer days on the horizon, Drowning Prevention Week brings water safety to the forefront of everyone’s mind and works to equip families with the appropriate skills and knowledge to enjoy water safely during the summer months and beyond.”