The Mirror is today launching our ‘Save Lives for Sam’ campaign to stop the “catastrophic” deaths of 33 children who drown in England every year – “the equivalent of a classroom of children lost’.
Drowning in the UK has become an “epidemic” and a “national emergency,” campaigners say, as we all join forces today to urge the Government to take urgent action.
The UK has seen a horrifying death toll of 19 children and adults killed in water related incidents during one week, in a record-breaking heatwave from May 24th to the 31st.
View 8 ImagesSupporters of the Mirror’s Save Lives for Sam campaign are urging the Government to take action.
Thirteen of those who died were children and six adults, including a 19-year-old. It is feared cold water shock may have caused many of these deaths. The youngest victim was 11 and the oldest 72.
In the year 2024 to 2025, 31 children died from drowning so the UK has already seen almost half of the amount killed the year before – in just one week. It is feared many more could die before the summer holidays, unless something is done now.
Bereaved families, The Royal Lifesaving Society UK (RLSS UK), RoSPA (the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, Lee Pitcher MP, the Black Swimming Association (BSA), The National Water Safety Forum, the RNLI and Swim England, have all joined forces with the Mirror.
Olympic legends Becky Adlington and Tom Dean have also backed our ‘Save Lives for Sam’ water safety campaign – alongside elite swimmer Michael Gunning.
View 8 ImagesSam Haycock died in a reservoir in Rotherham five years ago. His dad has been fighting to save lives ever since.
Front and centre of these calls is remarkable dad, Simon Haycock, whose 16-year-old son Sam drowned in Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham on his last day of school in 2021.
The tearful dad, who has been on a lone struggle to save other children ever since, said: “I’m backing the Mirror campaign because change needs to happen and it needs to happen fast. There is something up with the Government if they don’t listen to us all now. This is a matter of life and death.”
View 8 ImagesSimon Haycock is pleading for the Government to take action after his son died at Ulley Reservoir in South Yorkshire(Image: © Glen Minikin)
Figures show children in the most deprived communities drown at twice the rate of the least deprived. Boys drown at twice the rate of girls.
Mr Pitcher Labour MP for Doncaster, whose region has been one of the hardest hit by drowning deaths, told the Mirror: “At least 19 people have lost their lives to drowning in the last few weeks, many of them children and young adults. I do not think it is an exaggeration to call that a national emergency.
View 8 ImagesSimon fought and fundraised to get better safety equipment for the reservoir where his son died(Image: © Glen Minikin)
“I am delighted to join forces with the Mirror to campaign for urgent action and to push the government to deliver a national water safety awareness campaign.
“Unless the government acts now, more people could die this summer. The school holidays are weeks away, temperatures will rise again, and children will head to open water.”
Professor Mike Tipton, chair of the National Water Safety Forum, said: “Drowning is killing more people than bicycles, fires, floods and knife crime but somehow it still stays below the radar. It’s an epidemic that has not been properly recognised.
View 8 ImagesSam’s dad has been working tirelessly to save other children and says we need change ‘fast’
“We lose one person a day, on average, from drowning during May, June, July and August. Around 43% of them are under the age of 40, and quite a lot of them are young teenagers or men, particularly 20 to 29. It means that each year in the UK we lose about 8,000 years of life because people are dying prematurely.
“More than 50% of those deaths are inland. This is not a coastal problem, this is a national problem.
“Yet we have no UK senior minister with a portfolio that Includes drowning prevention.
“Every day we fail to get effective water safety messaging out there the data suggest another person will die. “
Four-time Olympic medallist and TV presenter Becky Adlington OBE, told the Mirror: “Too many families have suffered devastating losses. As someone who has spent my life in and around water, I know how important water safety education and awareness is.
View 8 ImagesOlympic legend Rebecca Adlington says too many families have suffered(Image: Getty Images)
“We need to improve public understanding of the risks of open water swimming, increase access to lifesaving equipment, and ensure all children are taught essential water safety skills. We have to start seeing swimming as a fundamental life skill.”
Triple Olympic champion and RLSS UK Ambassador Tom Dean said: “I am pleased to support this campaign to improve water safety education and prevent drowning.”
The Royal Livesaving Society UK said: “Every year, around 33 children in England drown. It is the equivalent of a classroom of children lost.”
Together, we are all calling for:
- The Government to launch an urgent public awareness campaign ahead of the summer holidays which targets parents and children on TikTok and other social media platforms. This should include lifesaving techniques and advice such as avoid diving into the water and information on cold water shock.
- Water companies and those in control of high risk large water bodies, to ‘do the right thing’ by bringing in the correct safety equipment.
- Compulsory lessons in schools (ahead of the holidays) on how to survive if you get into difficulty in the water, which should include the Water Safety Code, the RNLI ‘Float to Live’ campaign, and Phone-Float-Throw bystander advice.
- Put in place ‘Sam’s Law’. We urge the Government to make it law that safety equipment should be installed around high risk large bodies of water and make damaging this safety equipment an aggravated criminal offence to damage or steal this safety equipment. Currently it is already a criminal offence under theft or criminal damage but the penalties are low for these very minor offences.
- And finally the appointment of a Minister for Water Safety, as they have in Wales and Scotland, as drowning must be accepted as a preventable public health issue.
Labour’s Mr Peters has been fighting relentlessly to improve water safety in the UK since meeting dad, Sam’s dad.
He explained: “I still remember the day Simon told me what happened to his son, Sam Haycock. My own boy was the same age at the time, and when you hear a story like that, it never leaves you.
“That is why I am calling on the government to act now and deliver a national water safety awareness campaign before the summer holidays begin.
“I am pushing for this campaign for Sam, and for every child and young person who has tragically lost their life in our waterways, so that their lives were not lost in vain.”
Mum Vanessa Abbess, whose 17-year-old son Joe tragically drowned in a fierce rip current at Bournemouth beach in 2023, is also backing the Mirror’s campaign.
A 12-year-old girl also died that day in a separate group hit by the same rip current. Eight others were rescued.
His mum said: “It is not enough to know how to swim without knowing what to do to help your chances of survival if conditions change.
“I am still very shocked and heartbroken at Joe’s death. He was 17, healthy, strong, and a confident swimmer, but tragically drowned when a sudden and ferocious rip current hit at Bournemouth beach.
“Joe was a very caring young man, and I feel it is important to tell his story, to warn others of the dangers and unpredictability of the sea.
“I strongly believe that education is the key to saving lives.”
She said she was “delighted to hear” that classroom-based water safety education will be added to the National Curriculum from September 2026.
Simmy Akhtar, the CEO of RLSS UK, said the “exceptionally high” number of tragic drownings in May “reinforces the requirement for public health water safety education.”
“RLSS UK’s vision is to have our communities free from drowning and we are committed to providing water safety education,” the CEO said.
“Drowning prevention requires our collaborative efforts to ensure every child, no matter their background, has the knowledge, skills, and safe places to enjoy water safely.
“This campaign highlights the urgent need for collective action to save lives.”
Steve Cole, Policy and Impact Director, Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) said: “Every single drowning is a tragedy, and it is particularly heartbreaking when, as we’ve seen in recent weeks, the victim is a child or young person with their whole life ahead of them.
“But this loss of life, loved ones and hopes for the future doesn’t have to happen.
“Every single drowning is preventable, and the right education about the dangers of water, and the right safety equipment where it is needed, are proven to save lives.
“Everyone has a role to play here – be they parents, schools, landowners, the media or charities like RoSPA – and most importantly the government, who must take the lead and make a minister responsible for drowning prevention so we can ensure that everyone can enjoy the water safely. “
Adam Goymer, National Water Safety Manager at Swim England said: “At Swim England we want everyone to be able to enjoy the water safely. We’re pleased to back this campaign to highlight the importance of every child not just learning how to swim but also receiving the water safety knowledge that will help keep them safe in, on and around water.”
View 8 ImagesTom Dean MBE is backing the Mirror campaign along with the UK’s most respected safety charities
The RNLI said they have been “deeply saddened” by the recent water related fatalities and “we send our sincere condolences to the loved ones of those who have lost their lives. “
“Raising awareness of the dangers of open water and what to do should you find yourself struggling in the water is vital if we are to save more lives from drowning.”
Elite swimmer Michael Gunning said: “I’m proud to support this campaign. It’s been heartbreaking to see so many of these incidents reported before summer has even properly begun. “
Since 1994, swimming and water safety has been a statutory element of the national curriculum for physical education in England, with 11 year olds expected to leave primary school being able to swim 25 metres and be able to safe self rescue.
In September there will be classroom based water safety education on top of this.
But campaigners say this requirement is often not delivered either because of a lack of swimming pools or funding.
Swim England has monitored the provision of curriculum swimming and water safety in primary schools since 2012, and research found only half of pupils meet the required standards.
A government spokesperson said: “Our thoughts are with the families and friends of all those who have lost loved ones in these recent tragic incidents.
“The National Water Safety Forum will publish their new Drowning Prevention Strategy next month and we will continue to engage with their vital work to help keep people safe in and around water.”
View 8 ImagesRNLI have joined the ‘Save Lives for Sam’ campaign
The RNLI’s safety advice is to Float to Live:
- Tilt your head back with your ears submerged
- Relax and try to breathe normally
- Move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat
- It’s OK if your legs sink, we all float differently
- Once your breathing is under control, call for help or swim to safety.
If you see someone else in trouble at the coast, remember Phone, Float Throw:
- Phone 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard to get help.
- Tell the struggling person to Float to Live.
- Throw them something that floats, such as a life ring.