Water Safety
Know the dangers. Know what to do.
If you fall in
Float to Live
If you ever find yourself unexpectedly in the water, remember these four steps. Fighting the water is what costs lives, floating buys you time.
Fight your instinct
Don't thrash or try to swim straight away. Cold water makes you gasp and panic, that's what's dangerous.
Lean back
Tip your head back with your ears submerged. Spread your arms and legs out like a star.
Float
Float until the cold-water shock passes, usually 60–90 seconds, and your breathing comes back under control.
Call or swim
Once you're calm, call for help or swim to safety if you can.
The hidden risks
Why open water is so dangerous
Cold water shock
Even in summer, open water is often bitterly cold. The sudden cold makes you gasp involuntarily and can stop you swimming, or breathing, within seconds.
Hidden hazards
Beneath calm water there can be sudden drop-offs, weeds, rubbish and machinery you can't see from the bank.
No lifeguards
Most reservoirs, lakes and rivers have no lifeguards. If something goes wrong, there may be no one to help.
It tires you fast
Cold drains your strength quickly. Even strong, fit swimmers can struggle to reach the side.
What cold water does to your body
The danger isn't really about whether you can swim. The moment you hit cold water your body gasps and your breathing races, completely outside your control. That is cold-water shock, and it is what catches people out. In those first chaotic seconds it is frighteningly easy to breathe in water, and panic only makes it worse.
This is why floating buys you life. Fight the urge to thrash, lean back and float, and within a minute or two the gasping passes and you can think clearly again. The cold still saps your strength quickly, so once you are calm, call for help or head for the nearest safe way out.
If you do go in the water
- Choose a lifeguarded venue or a supervised open-water swimming group.
- Never swim alone, on a dare, or after drinking.
- Get in slowly so your body can adjust to the cold.
- Stay near the edge, and know how you will get out before you get in.
- A bright cap and a tow float make you much easier to see.
Talk to your children
- Have the conversation before summer and exam results, when temptation is highest.
- Agree one simple rule: no going into open water, however hot the day.
- Make sure they know to call 999 and ask for the Fire Service, never to jump in to help.
- Show them the Float to Live steps and how a throwline works.
Every year in the UK, hundreds of people drown accidentally, many of them young and fit, and most never meant to be in the water at all.
If someone else is in trouble
How to use a throwline
- 1
Shout to the person, tell them help is coming and to grab the line.
- 2
Stand well back from the edge. Kneel or sit so you can't be pulled in.
- 3
Throw the line just beyond and across them, so it lands within their reach.
- 4
Pull them in steadily to the side. Never go into the water after them.
In an emergency
Don't go in. Call for help.
Call 999 now- Ask for the Fire Service at inland water (lakes, rivers, reservoirs), or the Coastguard at the coast.
- Throw something that floats, a throwline, ring, or anything buoyant.
- Tell them to float on their back and stay calm.
- Never enter the water yourself, most would-be rescuers get into trouble too.
Share this. It could save a life.
The more people who know how to float and how to help, the fewer families face what Sam's did. Please share this page, or print our leaflet, for the young people in your life.
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