Lancashire mum whose son drowned teaches teens about dangers of water as temperatures set to soar
Video report by ITV Granada Reports' journalist Claire Hannah.
A mum from Lancashire whose teenage son drowned within three minutes of entering a disused quarry has taken her heartbreaking water safety campaign into schools.
Beckie Ramsay, who lost her son Dylan in 2011, shared her powerful message with young people in Chorley, as temperatures are set to reach above 30 celsius in parts of the UK.
In 2021, swimming authorities reported an increase in the number of people taking to rivers, lakes, and the sea – and with it a rise water-related deaths.
In the North West alone, eight people were killed within six days in the region's waters
The heartbreak of losing someone in such a preventable circumstances is something mother Beckie Ramsay BEM is all too familiar with.
Her son, Dylan Ramsay, died at the age of 13 after he went swimming in a quarry to cool off during hot weather. He drowned within three minutes of being in the water.
Since his death, Beckie says she has lived with the guilt of never telling Dylan about the dangers of cold water shock.
She has made it her life aim to warn other parents - and to get the government to make water safety mandatory in schools across the UK.
Beckie has spoken to 185,000 people including, most recently, a group of young people in Chorley. What started as a room full of noisy teenagers soon silenced.
Young people in Chorley sit through Beckie Ramsay's powerful presentation on water safety after the death of her son in 2011.
"I was so close, but so far away when he needed me the most", Beckie said fighting back tears.
Beckie has been campaigning for more than a decade for water safety to be included on the national school curriculum.
She came extremely close in 2021 after speaking to the education minister, but that was until the Prime Minister Boris Johnson had a cabinet reshuffle.
Beckie said:"So I was told that they had to bring the new education minister up to speed. I think I've been pretty patient - it's been nearly a year."
The still grieving mother says she will never stop fighting, and she has even received a British Empire Medal for her campaigning.
But says she will give it all back in a heartbeat if it meant she could see her son again.
She said: "It's really nice to be recognised [for campaigning] but that is not why I do what I do. Take all your medals back, take all your certificates back and give me my son any day of the week."
A spokesperson from the Department of Education has said: “The death of any child is a tragedy, and our thoughts are with the family and friends of Dylan as we approach the anniversary of his death.
“Water safety is an essential life skill, which is why we have made it a mandatory part of the curriculum for Physical Education at primary school and are continuing to work closely with a number of organisations to ensure that every child is taught how to swim safely.”
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