Fire service in water safety plea over hidden risks

Leo Fielding is calling for people to not go into rivers, lakes or reservoirs

A fire service has warned people to stay out of rivers, lakes and reservoirs which can hold unseen dangers.

Warwickshire Fire and Rescue Service issued its warning on Friday's World Drowning Prevention day which is run by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and aims to raise people's awareness of water safety.

Leo Fielding, station manager for the Rugby District area, told the BBC: "The message we want to give is not to go into the water in the first place. Especially in the hot weather it looks inviting, but the temperature of the water might not be what you think it is."

Globally, an estimated 236,000 people drown every year, WHO has warned.

Warwickshire firefighters have been called to more than 40 water-related incidents since 2018, some of which have resulted in fatalities.

July is consistently the busiest month for call outs to spots including rivers, canals and reservoirs, the service said.

Donna Marshall from Severn Trent Water warned its reservoirs were not safe for swimming

Donna Marshall, from the visitor experience team at Severn Trent Water, is also warning the public not to swim in any of their reservoirs.

"The reservoirs are really not places we want you to swim. To come and just dip into the water really isn't safe," she said.

"It goes so deep in the middle of Draycote you can get five double decker buses on top of each other, and we're just asking people to stay out of the water."