A Cheshire mum's warning after her daughter drowned trying to save a friend

Video report by Nitya Rajan

A mother whose daughter drowned tried saving a friend is warning of the dangers of children not being able to swim.

Nicola Davis says she does not want other families to go through the trauma of losing a child. Her 14 year old daughter Teya drowned after her friend slipped into a pond and she tried to rescue her.

Teya was 14 when she drowned trying to save a friend Credit: ITV

Every year 402 people in the UK die due to accidental drowning according to Royal Lifesaving Society UK.

Swimming instructors report a sharp drop in access to pools and leisure centres during the pandemic.

The national body for Swimming, Swim England, say the impact of Covid-19 means more than one million children could leave primary school unable to swim.

Pupils getting vital time in the pool to improve their swimming skils

According to the national curriculum students should be able to swim 25 metres unaided by the time they leave primary school.

But lockdown has meant that over the next five years more than 1 million children could leave without being able achieve that.

Nicola Davis says her children now attend water safety lessons joining small groups to pick up life saving skills.

Nicola Davies with her children after spending time in the pool Credit: ITV

The Davies family want to see swimming and water education occupy a bigger part of the curriculum, on par with key subjects like  maths and english.

Beckie Ramsay has campaigned for better water safety for a decade since her son Dylan drowned Credit: ITV Granada

It is a view shared by Beckie Ramsay from Chorley who has campaigned tirelessly for better compulsory water safety education for pupils and for safety equipment to be installed around all open water.

Mrs Ramsay's 13-year-old son Dylan drowned at Hill Top Quarry in July 2011.

Dylan Ramsay was a strong swimmer but drowned cooling off in a quarry in Chorley Credit: ITV Granada

The government said swimming and water safety education were mandatory in primary schools across England.

Mrs Ramsay said she did not think this was enough and for the past decade she's gone into schools to talk to youngsters about the dangers of drowning.

She also launched a petition which has over a 100, 000 signatures supporting her call for water safety lessons to be compulsory at school.

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A hard hitting play in memory of Dylan Ramsey who drowned swimming in a local quarry