Michael Scaife: Pupils to be shown friend's memories of river drowning

Michael Scaife drowned after jumping into the river with two friends

Schoolchildren will be shown a woman recounting the last moments of her friend who drowned in a river as part of a new safety campaign.

Michael Scaife, 20, died after he went to help a friend in the Jubilee River in Datchet, Berkshire, in August 2015.

Jade Spilsbury was with Mr Scaife and other friends who went to the river.

She, along with Mr Scaife's mother Sonia, have taken part of an educational video in which they warn of the dangers of open waters.

Mr Scaife was a trainee shop manager who was about to become a mentor with The Prince's Trust when he died.

In the video Mrs Scaife walks across the bridge of the Jubilee River where she sat for hours waiting for specialist divers to pull him out.

The bridge over the Jubilee River in Datchet was renamed after Mr Scaife's death and is now known as Michael's Bridge

The video, produced by the Safer Slough Partnership and the Environment Agency, will be shared with secondary schools and used in PHE lessons.

Alan Sinclair, Slough Borough Council's joint chair of the partnership, said: "This is a really sad and salient story of a young man from Langley with his whole life in front of him, who was out on a summer's day and having fun.

"It quickly turned to tragedy when another young man got into trouble and Michael helped get him to the edge before getting into trouble himself."

Lee Barnham, joint chair of the partnership and local area commander for Thames Valley Police, said: "We want to reach out to young people early to warn them of the life-threatening danger of going into bodies of water in good weather.

"The video powerfully highlights what can happen when tempted by water on a hot day."