'Don't be a hero': Nottingham mum whose son drowned saving others backs calls for more water safety
Rosie Dowsing spoke to a mother whose son drowned saving others in the River Trent.
A mother from Nottingham whose son drowned in the River Trent is backing calls for more awareness into preventing drowning.
Nicola Jenkins lost her son Owen when he was just 12. He died after going into the water at Beeston Weir to save two girls.
Nicola recalls what happened the day that her son died, saying "He gave me a kiss, he told me he loved me and that was the last time I saw him.
"He went in got the first girl who was in the most difficulty bought her back to the Weir steps, and when he went in for the second girl he went over the top of the hydroplant which is about a 25-metre drop and sadly thats where they found him".
A national warning has now been issued about safety around rivers and lakes as we enter June, which saw the most water-related deaths in the UK last year.
In 2023 alone, seven people lost their lives due to accidental drowning in the East Midlands.
Across the country, the number of people who died because of accidental drownings increased, with 236 people dying in water across the UK last year.
Nicola, who has set up her own campaign called OWEN, the Open Water Educational Network in memory of her son, is joining calls to warn others of the dangers of open water.
She said: "Don't be the hero, or be a hero from the sidelines. Had Owen known what I'm talking about in schools we probably wouldn't have even known about this situation because the girls would have got out safely and Owen wouldn't have got out either. I couldn't let Owen's death be in vain.
"From a very young age he always said to me that he wanted to be famous. He was a great rugby player, and we always thought it would be playing rugby.
"Unfortunately he leaves us the legacy of a little hero and that's the most important thing to me is to make sure other people know what to do in an emergency.
Bryn Coleman, Head of Prevention, Protection & Fire investigation is encouraging others to call, tell and throw if they see someone having difficulty in the water. The advice is:
Call 999 to get help immediately.
Tell the struggling person to float on the back.
Throw them something that floats.
Bryn says: "So it's really really important that members of the public contact the emergency services when they see somebody in distress, don't go in the water themselves and try and reach or throw a buoyancy aid to the individual in distress.
"But please, please don't enter the water. It's a natural human reaction to try and save somebody in distress but invariably it means we get two casualties in the water".
The hope is that with the new warnings issued, and with support from people across the country like Nicola, the number of water deaths won't rise again this year.
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