Campaigners call for more 'cold water shock' education after Rotherham teenager drowns
Today marks a week since 16 year old Sam Haycock died in Ulley Reservoir
Last updated 4th Jun 2021
A week on from a teenager drowning in Rotherham, campaigners say kids must be taught more in school about the dangers of cold water shock.
16 year old Sam Haycock lost his life at Ulley Reservoir last Friday after getting into difficulty in the water.
It's been reported he went in to save one of his friends.
Beckie Ramsey unveiled an emergency throwline at the reservoir four years ago in memory of her son Dylan who drowned in Lancashire in 2011.
She tells her the death has hit her hard:
"I've been lighting a candle since the night Sam passed. Every death is like a kick in the stomach. It's coming up for ten years for Dylan and it's still as raw for me today as what it was the day I lost him. I miss him every second of every day.
"I'm fed up of talking to families who are going through the same nightmare as myself. I'm fed up of families reaching out to me and me not being able to say that anything's progressed."
Becky now wants more done in schools to educate kids of the dangers of swimming in open water.
More than 15,000 people have signed her petition calling for children to be taught about things like cold water shock as part of the national curriculum.
She says it's vital:
"Cold water shock is the biggest killer in open water and people never hear about it. I never heard about cold water shock until my son was dead and we were looking a reasons for why he lost his life. That shouldn't be the case.
"Children and teenagers will obviously think the water's going to be a little bit cold - I'm sure that goes through their head. But I don't think they realise that that cold water could instantly kill them. Jumping from a high height into cold water could instantly shock their body and they might not resurface."
What happened last Friday at Ulley Reservoir?
Emergency services were called to Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham shortly after 3pm after reports of a teenage boy getting into difficulty in the water.
It's thought 16 year old Sam was with a group of friends in the water after their last day of year 11.
Fire service boats and police divers were deployed to the scene and sadly recovered a body from the water.
Ulley Reservoir is known for groups of young people jumping from the bridge into the water, especially when it's nice weather during the summer.
There are a number of signs up warning against swimming and the emergency thowline too.
Leanne Buchan from Rotherham Council says many of the young people who jump in know the dangers:
"There's a huge effort that goes into the education programmes, there's all the signage up, and when we talk to them, they're very aware of that education but I think there's a feeling that it won't happen to them.
"All we can really hope is that tragic cases like this really bring home just how real this danger is.
"What we might be better off doing is teaching people how to survive cold water shock, actually working with schools to do a more practical session where you actually put children in the water, albeit in a wet suit and in a controlled environment, so they get an understanding of just how cold the water is."
The council says it's working with the fire service to develop new ways of training kids about how to deal with cold water shock, because the strategy of telling them to stay away from water completely doesn't seem to be working.
They're also putting on more patrols around the borough this weekend, with more warm weather expected.
In response to Becky Ramsey's petition, a Department of Education spokesperson said:
"The Department expresses its sincere condolences to the family and friends of Dylan Ramsay. Too many people lose their lives to drowning incidents each year and the Department recognises the role that water safety education plays in helping prevent accidents.
"Water safety is a vital life skill, which is why it is a mandatory part of the curriculum for Physical Education at primary school. The curriculum states that pupils should be taught to perform safe self-rescue in different water-based situations.
"The Department recognises that children have missed out on opportunities to be taught how to swim and to be safe in and around water due to COVID-19 restrictions.
"The Department is continuing to work closely with Swim England, The Royal Life Saving Society UK, Canal and River Trust and the Association for Physical Education to support pupils being taught how to swim and to be taught water safety through a number of routes."