World Drowning Prevention Day: "Find your Float!"
26% of all accidental drownings in the last five years involved 10-29 year-olds
A Wigan woman whose brother tragically drowned in the sea near Hoylake is leading calls for people to stay safe in open water this summer.
Haydn Griffiths was a confident swimmer - he was a sailor, a scuba diver, and paddleboarder with water safety knowledge.
But he still got into difficulty whilst out swimming in the sea in July 2022 and tragically lost his life.
Haydn's sister Megan Griffiths has campaigned over the last three year to raise awareness around the dangers of open water, to try and prevent other families from going through the same devastation hers has.
New data released today by the National Water Safety Forum, on World Drowning Prevention Day, reveals that young people aged between 10 and 29 account for over a quarter of accidental drowning deaths in the UK.
In response, the forum has launched a new initiative called "Find Your Float' to educate on the importance of self-rescuing through floating.
They want people to practice floating in safe and supervised settings - like lifeguarded beaches and swimming pools.
Megan said:
"It's not always super sunny in the UK, and when it is, everyone flocks to the coastline, to the rivers, to the lakes, to the reservoirs, and that's when the most incidents happen and that's when we need to be extra cautious about our water safety.
"Cold water shock can happen even if the weather's warm, know what to do if you get into trouble in the water, and this World Drowning Prevention Day, we're all trying to get everyone to think about floating.
"There's a 'Float To Live' campaign and we want people to 'Find Their Float'.
"Finding your float means if you can get into a swimming pool or even in the sea and practice what floating feels like to you. It doesn't necessarily feel the same to everyone.
"They say try and lie on the back and float like a starfish, but it's OK if your legs sink, it's OK if your arms sink, just tilt your head back, submerge your ears in the water and just see what it feels like... and that's your float!"
Public events are being held across the UK today (25 July) for people to find out what floating looks and feels like for them.