Northumberland firefighters hold water safety event following recent deaths of teens in River Tyne
Watch Kris Jepson's report on the water safety event held in Prudhoe, Northumberland
Firefighters, police and mountain rescue officers joined forces to hold a water safety event in Prudhoe, Northumberland on Saturday, following the deaths in recent years of three teenagers.
Aras Rudzianskas, 13, and David Radut, 14, died after getting into difficulties on a stretch of the River Tyne between Ovingham and Prudhoe in May 2024. Two years earlier, Robert Hattersley, 13, also died in the same area.
Robert's dad, Carl Hattersley, and his wife held a stall at the event, raising awareness of water safety through the Robert Hattersley Foundation.
Carl told ITV News: "Oh, it was real bad, you don’t know if you’re coming or going or anything when it happens to you, so that’s why we’re here today to give our message out to be safe and how to stay safe around rivers, to show them how to be safe, that’s why the fire brigade are down here to show and learn them, maybe how to rescue someone if they get into trouble, and maybe not go into the river to jump in."
There has been an 85 per cent increase in child drownings in England between 2019 and 2022, according to the Royal Life Saving Society. Some 20 drownings occurred in 2019/20 compared with 37 in 2021/22.
Paul Hinken, from Northumberland Fire and Rescue, told ITV News: "The dangers of rivers and waterways are cold water shock, rocks, tree branches, items that can snag individuals and trap them into the water, and fast currents that can catch people out, so the message is for our young people to stay away from swimming in rivers and use supervised swimming areas such as swimming pools."
Supported by Northumberland County Council, the fire service and mountain rescue showed young people a number of life saving measures they can undertake if someone is in the water and in danger. These include how to throw a line to the person in the water, how to use life jackets and other safety kit.
The council also plans to erect new water safety warning signs next to the river, with one already in place.
Councillor Angie Scott, who represents the Prudhoe North ward, told ITV News: "We’ve put new signs along the river. We’ve decided to put some throw lines in along with the life buoys that are already there, but the message is to get the emergency services to talk to our young people to tell them that it’s not a safe place to swim."