Conwy: Tesco puts safety stickers on paddleboards

Emma Powell died just hours after buying a paddleboard from Tesco near Llandudno, Conwy county

Tesco will display safety advice on all of their stand-up paddleboards following the death of a woman in a north Wales estuary.

Emma Powell died in July last year while out in the River Conwy estuary.

A coroner at the inquest into her death raised concerns over paddleboard safety, the use of ankle leashes, and retailers' responsibilities.

Tesco has now said it will attach a safety sticker to all its stand-up paddleboards.

The sticker, created by British Canoeing, will show the correct ways to wear a leash in different paddling conditions. A QR code on the sticker will also link to a webpage offering further safety advice.

Emma Powell died just hours after she and her cousin, Amber Powell, had purchased a paddleboard each from a Tesco store near Llandudno.

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The inquest in December heard that neither of them were wearing life jackets and, while the water was choppy, the weather was not bad.

But Emma Powell's board crashed into the side of a jetty and the 24-year-old became trapped underneath the water.

Senior coroner John Gittins said he would issue a prevention of future deaths report, which has led to the safety move from Tesco.

Emma Powell died after becoming trapped under the water on the River Conwy estuary

British Canoeing, which has been promoting the provision of paddleboard safety advice by retailers since the rise in popularity of the activity, said the move by Tesco was a "crucial step" and it now expects other major supermarkets to follow suit.

Ashley Metcalfe, chief executive of British Canoeing, said: "Provision of safety information and resources by retailers, manufacturers, and suppliers at the point of sale is key to raising awareness of safety among new and novice paddlers.

"Tragically over the past couple of years there have been several fatalities involving new and novice paddlers."

In its letter to the coroner, Tesco said it "worked hard" to ensure the products it sells are safe and added that "to learn that any of our customers have died whilst using one of our products is very upsetting".

It also said it would be sharing information with other retailers.

Four paddleboarders, Nicola Wheatley, Paul O'Dwyer, Morgan Rogers and Andrea Powell died in a separate paddleboarding tragedy in Haverfordwest in October 2021.