Mum releases water safety children's book after son drowns in Manchester reservoir
She hopes it will help parents and schools educate young people about the dangers of open water
Last updated 28th Apr 2022
A mum whose son drowned in a Manchester reservoir has released a children's book to educate young people about water safety.
Leeanne Bartley's son, Mark Allen, drowned after jumping into Debdale Reservoir in Gorton in 2018.
Since then, Leeanne has been campaigning fiercely to get safety equipment, such as throw lines, installed at bodies of water across the UK.
Now, with the help of authors Richard O'Neill and Michelle Russell, she's launched a book to educate children about water safety, including information about the risk of cold water shock, and what to do if you get into trouble.
Leeanne said:
"The idea for a book was just a dream I'd dreamt up to help Mark achieve his goal of becoming famous and helping others.
"Then, a talented author and illustrator reached out to me after she saw a water safety awareness post I'd shared and kindly offered to write a book in his memory.
"Our main goal is to share Mark's story far and wide, and hopefully we can help reduce the number of families affected by the loss of a loved one to drowning, as well as raise some money for good causes in the process too.
"Our character, Captain Sparky was named by myself and comes from always calling Mark 'Sparky Marky' when he was little.
"The drawing of the character was inspired by a drawing one of Mark's younger siblings did just a couple of days after he died."
On average 400 people drown in the UK each year, according to the charity National Water Safety.
'I do not want to be here for another debate when another child has lost their life'
'Mark Allen's law', which would require that throwlines are placed around every reservoir, lake and canal, as well as other bodies of water, was debated by MPs earlier this year.
During the debate, local government minister Kemi Badenoch said:
"We will give serious consideration to all the options. We need to make sure that this is absolutely the right pathway to go down.
"I understand the points that everyone has made. I do not want to be standing here for another debate when another child or young person has lost their life, so we take this issue very seriously.
"I reiterate that we all share the same ambition of making our waterways as safe as possible."
Ms Badenoch added: "There is more that can be done to educate people on the risks, but I know that the bodies charged with keeping people safe take that responsibility seriously and will be upping the ante in the months ahead to prevent deaths such as Mark’s in the future.
"I take this opportunity on behalf of the government to urge every landowner, council, agency and charity involved in our waterways to find new and engaging ways in the months ahead to teach people about how to enjoy the water safely. We are here to support them in whatever way we can."