Last year LADbible shared the heart-breaking story of Anthony Miller, who was just 23 when he tragically died after going into the sea after drinking, as part of a campaign with the RNLI aimed at reducing the number of drowning deaths across the UK and Ireland.
It was a series that got a lot of people talking about water safety and certainly made us respect the water more than we ever have before. Now, we're partnering up again with the RNLI to help tackle the massively male-dominated coastal drowning stats. Figures show that of the 162 people who lost their lives at the UK 's coastline last year, a massive 74 percent were men. Think about that for a moment.
Credit: PA
Advert
Across the past five years, men have accounted for 77 percent of these drownings. And we think the number of men losing their lives in this way is completely unacceptable. No one else should be losing their friend, brother, son or dad in this horrible way.
You might think this could never happen to you, but almost half (44 percent) of the people who drowned last year had no intention of entering water - they were people who slipped, tripped or fell in to the water.
Credit: PA
Advert
The good news is that a lot of these deaths could be prevented, if people are clued up about how to survive. So, this year we're sharing a simple skill to help save lives - floating.
The advice from the RNLI is to fight your initial instinct to swim or panic, if you fall into cold water, but instead float until the shock of being submerged in cold water has passed and you can control your breathing again. Once you've caught your breath you'll find it much easier to swim to safety, shout for help, find something to keep you afloat or simply try and preserve your body heat until someone rescues you.
By spreading this message, we can reduce the number of drownings in the UK. It's that simple. So, share this advice, talk to friends, do whatever to make sure you and your mates know what to do if the worst happens.
You might not need this now, or even this summer, but it pays to know how to survive. You never know, floating might one day save your life.
That's why we're proud to be supporting the RNLI's Respect the Water campaign again in 2017.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: rnli