Mum who lost her son after he drowned in a quarry in Chorley warns we're sleepwalking into a national disaster of children not being able to swim

As we head into the summer months we're being warned one in three children are leaving school without knowing how to swim because of the pandemic.

That's according to former Olympic swimmer Steve Parry who said it's down to pools shutting over lockdown, with many being forced to permanently close their doors.

Previous data from Swim England has stated that 138,000 children leave primary school every year unable to swim the statutory 25 metres, but Steve fears this number will be exacerbated by at least 60,000 in the wake of the pandemic.

Steve is encouraging schools and local authorities to make this a priority and help save pools and facilities so that every child can have access to the basic right of being taught how to swim which can ultimately save their life.

Becky Ramsey knows the devastating impact drowning can have all too well after she lost her son Dylan when he drowned in a quarry in Chorley almost 10 years ago.

Ever since, Becky's been fighting to get water safety into the national curriculum, she said: "I mean the consequences are going to be that we lose children this year, we lose more lives and more families go through the heartache that my family has gone through.

"It's that simple, without the adequate learning how to swim or the adequate safety skills in place, then what chance do our children actually have.

"Even when our pools were open and schools were committed to teaching children the 25 metres minimal distance we were still failing children many times many years over, I think it'll be more than 50% of children leave school unable to swim.

"It's a part of keeping our children safe, it's the only thing that they learn at school that actually is a life-saving skill that could potentially save somebody else's life if they saw somebody else in danger."