Gosport MP Caroline Dinenage yesterday signed up to support the UK's drowning prevention charity in its work to reduce drowning and provide water safety education and lifesaving awards across the UK and Ireland. Representatives from The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) made the trip to Parliament ahead of its annual national campaign, Drowning Prevention Week which, this year, runs from June 21 to 29.
Caroline said, "Tragically, more than 30 people drowned in just seven weeks during last summer's heatwave. Locally we are lucky to have the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service who do a wonderful job responding to lifesaving calls and delivering safety presentations – however this is an issue right across the country. Around 400 people accidentally drown in the UK every year - one every 20 hours - and thousands more have near drowning experiences.
These deaths could have been avoided, so I'm more than happy to support The Royal Life Saving Society and its volunteers in their excellent work to provide water safety education as well as lifesaving courses for all ages to try and reduce this figure and save lives."
The RLSS UK works to promote drowning prevention messages and deliver water safety education nationally, as well as offering a range of awards and programmes that teach lifesaving skills to all ages. The support it has received from the pledge will go towards its aim of getting water safety education on the National Curriculum and in all schools.
