Safety scheme launched at Cuerden Valley Park by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service targeting the dangers of open water swimming

A new water safety scheme for the county is being launched by Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service.
The lake at Cuerden Valley ParkThe lake at Cuerden Valley Park
The lake at Cuerden Valley Park

Two water safety boards will be placed at separate locations in Cuerden Valley Park by the service which hopes the scheme will eventually be rolled out nationally.

LFRS has already selected other sites around the county it hopes to target.

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The initiative follows several open water fatalities and rescues of young people and adults by emergency services personnel over recent years.

The boards have been funded by the families of those who lost lives within open water environments.

They will hold key life-saving advice on them as well as accurate location details in the event that the emergency services need to be contacted.

Cuerden Valley Park Trust site manager, Simon Thorpe, said: “We recognised the great work that Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service was trying to do in our community and were more than happy to have the boards installed within the park.

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"It can be easy to miss the dangers of swimming in open water especially during the summer months when it can look so inviting but cold water shock and what lurks under the surface are real dangers.

"We hope that having these boards in place will not only make people reconsider their actions but also provide an aid should someone enter the water and get into difficulty.”

The boards will contain a ‘locked’ canister, which is accessed by a code given to the caller by fire control room operators, containing a whistle and throw line which gives people a means of assisting someone in trouble without risking entering the water themselves.

The boards are bespoke to their location and contain a unique location code so that emergency services can locate the incident as quickly as possible.

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