York Rescue Boat urges caution around open water
The organisation says families across Yorkshire have suffered bereavements in recent days.
We're being urged not to take risks around open water in York and North Yorkshire.
York Rescue Boat has tweeted to say that families in Yorkshire have suffered from bereavements recently due to incidents around rivers.
David Wilson is an operational manager there, and told Greatest Hits Radio York: "It's one of the call-outs that our teams dread: either calls to missing children or children reported missing in a river.
"A lot of us have young children, so it links directly to us. The team are very concerned at the moment about the rise in incidents around open water. The current weather gives a false impression that the water is going to be warm, when it isn't.
"We do ask that all parents talk to their children about the dangers of open water, and also schools to send out messages to parents themselves. We need to get this safety message spread out as far as we can.
"With more people being out and about and visiting beauty spots, tombstoning is one of the issues that affects everyone; it can lead to life-changing injuries or even death.
"So far this year we've had an increase in the number of call-outs, including missing persons searches or people in rivers. We expect another busy year for our team".
David has this advice for if you find yourself unexpectedly in danger in water: "Turn onto your back and float; this means that your airways are clear of the water.
"Once you get your breathing under control you can then shout for help and use your arms to help get yourself to the edge".