Sandwell has lots of open water including lakes, pools, ponds, canals and rivers, which can be particularly inviting during the summer months, and people are often tempted to swim in them.
Alan Lunt, Executive Director - Place said: “We all love to keep cool in the summer. But I want to urge everyone, especially our children and teenagers, to stay water safe this summer and only swim in purpose-built and supervised swimming pools.
“We have some amazing swimming facilities in Sandwell, including our Olympic grade Sandwell Aquatics Centre, to enjoy and our free swimming offer is open to young people during the school holidays and our older people all year round.”
Water may feel warm on the surface, but just a few feet below can be icy cold, even in the hot weather and can very quickly cause severe cramp and hypothermia.
Young people can often misjudge their swimming ability - they may view a river or lake as a tempting means of cooling off but fail to appreciate the harmful effects that the cold water can have on their stamina and strength.
Sandwell Council’s ‘stay safe swimming’ message comes as the Black Country Water Safety Programme, delivered by Active Black Country, gets under way in June. The programme is supported by the West Midlands Combined Authority’s Commonwealth Games Legacy Enhancement Fund.
Aimed at Years 5 and 6, the free programme of lessons in and out of the water will involve Sandwell schools and many others across the Black Country where water safety attainment rates are at their lowest.
For more information on water safety in Sandwell
The council provides free swimming at leisure centres with swimming pools for:
- Sandwell children aged 18 and under during school holidays during designated free swimming sessions
- Sandwell residents aged 60 and over before 1pm every day.
- Sandwell residents who are registered as disabled (for a pass visit your nearest Sandwell leisure centre with a pool).