Children in the Wirral learn vital life saving skills to keep them safe in the water
A video report by Granada Reports journalist Jennifer Buck
The RNLI is encouraging all children to learn the 'float to live' technique to survive in the water.
Water safety volunteers are speaking directly to young people to get their message across during National Drowning Prevention Week on 17th to 24th June.
Helen Diamond Swimming School in Wirral and the Hoylake RNLI water safety volunteers started running regular water safety sessions after several tragic drownings in Summer 2020.
In the recent weeks of hot weather there have been several drownings, where young people have got into trouble in the water across the North West.
On 1 June a teenage girl died while swimming at Carr Mill Dam in St Helens.
On 14 June Abbie Walton died after getting into difficulty in the River Etherow near Hodge Lane, in Broadbottom
Recent figures reveal there were 22 deaths in the North West from accidental drowning in 2022 across inland and coastal locations.
Overall in the UK, the figure was 226. Of the people who died across the UK, 40 per cent had no intention of entering the water, such as those walking, with causes including slips, trips and falls, being cut off by the tide, or swept in by waves.
Recent research also indicates a third of UK people don’t know what to do if they get into difficulty in the water.
30 minute sessions are taking place at both Caldy Grange Swimming Pool and Birkenhead High School Academy over the course of Drowning Prevention Week.
Dave Bates, Hoylake RNLI Water Safety Adviser said: "We are really looking forward to partnering with the Helen Diamond Swimming School again this year.
"These children are already learning to swim, but there is much more to being safe in and around water.
"The RNLI messages and these skills can save your life whether you are a non-swimmer or a county champion, especially if you have fallen into cold water."