Water safety to be debated in Parliament after successful campaign by Lancashire mum of teen victim Dylan Ramsay

For the last ten years, Beckie Ramsay has campaigned tirelessly to improve water safety, following the death of her son Dylan.

He was 13-years-old when he drowned after going for a swim in a local disused quarry in Chorley.

Today (Saturday) marks ten years since his death, and poignantly, after years of campaigning, this week she reached 100 thousand signatures on a petition calling for increased water safety on the national curriculum.

That means the issue will now be discussed in Parliament.

Beckie told ITV Granada Reports:

"I'm overwhelmed that we've got a hundred thousand plus people, standing side-by-side, all wanting the same thing and that is for better education for our children and that will undoubtedly save lives."

"I'm a mum who sadly didn't know or understand the dangers or risks associated with open water, so in turn I never taught my son. The problem is, if parents don't know how can they teach their children? We're a generation who have never been taught. We have to start somewhere so that water safety is as well known as road-safety and fire-safety.

Beckie has been campaigning to improve water safety education and get it put on the national curriculum.

In particular, she wants children to be taught about cold water shock and rip tides.

Beckie says education about the dangers of open water is crucial.

Her son Dylan was athletic, sporty and a strong swimmer. But he lacked knowledge about the specific dangers associated with open water, rip tides and cold water shock.

It was a very hot day ten years ago when Dylan had gone swimming in Hilltop Quarry in Whittle-le-Woods with two friends.

The teen was in the water for 20 minutes before he got into some kind of difficulty, the exact details of which are still unknown.

With the petition currently at more than 107 thousand signatures, Beckie says she's more driven than ever to continue her campaign.

She says this is just the start of her plans to increase water-safety, and hopes one day it will be taken as seriously as road-safety and fire-safety.

The petition will be discussed in Parliament on July 12th. You can find out more about it here