Open water safety awareness day to take place in Rotherham a year on from Sam Haycock's death
The 16-year-old drowned in the Ulley reservoir last May
A grieving South Yorkshire dad insists that planning events around open water safety has 'kept him sane' since his son's tragic death last year.
Simon's Haycock's 16-year-old son Sam drowned at the Ulley reservoir in Rotherham last May.
He's putting on an awareness day at Clifton Park in the town tomorrow to mark exactly a year since his death:
"We've got the fire brigade, we've got two water rescue teams, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, South Yorkshire Police and St. John's Ambulance coming down.
"These partner agencies will be talking to people about the risks of open water, and then people will get chance to have a go with a throw-line, so they'll know exactly what to do if they're in an emergency.
"It's keeping me going and keeping me sane. It's giving me something to focus on other than that grief.
"The grief will always be there. However, focusing on something positive like this and trying to turn what happened to Sam into a positive just feels like the right thing to do.
"I've deliberately put this event on the anniversary of Sam's passing to keep our family busy.
"Getting the message of open water safety across to others is now more important than ever for me.
"After the event, we're going to have a small family gathering to reflect and remember Sam in his own way.
"We're going to try and make the event at Clifton Park a very fun day, but ultimately it's about learning.
"We need youngsters to realise the dangers of open water and how to handle an emergency if something goes wrong in that circumstance."
The water safety 'fun day' is due to take place from around 10am until 4pm tomorrow at Clifton Park in Rotherham.