Bude sea pool hosts RNLI water safety event

Members of the public were invited to join the water safety sessions

Water safety experts and the RNLI have joined forces to offer advice on how to stay safe around the Cornish coast during hot weather.

A public awareness event at Bude sea pool was held as part of World Drowning Prevention Day on Friday.

Members of Bude Surf Lifesaving Club offered water self-rescue sessions together with interactive sea safety advice from the RNLI.

New figures have revealed that young people are the most at-risk group for accidental drowning in the UK, according to the National Water Safety Forum.

'Real problem'

Forum chair Mike Tipton, from Porthleven, said 40 percent of annual deaths from drowning in the UK involve people under the age of 40.

"Over 25 percent of them are in the 20 to 29-year-old bracket and mostly males," he said.

"I mean that's a real problem.

"It also translates sadly into many years of life lost because it's around about 6,100 years of life lost every year in the UK because people die too soon due to drowning," said Mr Tipton.

Among the events at Bude Sea pool are Find Your Float self-rescue sessions, which teach a technique used by a group of Cornish swimmers in an incident at sea six years ago.

Ellie Smith, 21, from West Cornwall, recalled how she was caught in a rip current while swimming at Gwithian with a group of friends.

She advised her friends to lie on their backs and float while she swam ashore to get help.

"I think your instinct is definitely to try and fight it and panic and try to swim but no, that's definitely far more dangerous than just getting onto your back and staying afloat," she said.