Children in Whitchurch take on board the Home and Dry water safety message
Primary pupils in Shropshire have had a lesson in water safety as part of the Police and Crime Commissioner's Home and Dry campaign.
Almost 80 pupils at Whitchurch Infants School , aged between four and six, had a visit from West Mercia Search and Rescue volunteers who demonstrated how to perform a rescue using a throwline and the professional equipment they use to help someone in difficulty.
Assistant Police and Crime Commissioner Nicola Lowery also attended the visit.
The pupils also took part in the Home and Dry online water safety course, which has now helped more than 22,000 people learn how to keep themselves safe.
Kirsty Walsh is the ambassador for the Home and Dry Campaign, and West Mercia Search and Rescue, after losing her husband Shane to drowning in Shrewsbury town centre.
She said “I think it’s fantastic that local schools are inviting the team in and promoting water safety. It is crucial to target younger children as they are the growing generation that will change the way we view water safety, keeping it at the forefront of our minds. Often we have found that it is the younger children who go home and talk to relatives about what they have learnt and encourage them to be safe around the water.”
The visit was part of the Home and Dry network's ongoing work to improve water safety education. PCC John Campion has also hired a water safety officer.
He said: “Education is key in preventing unnecessary water tragedies, and inputs like this are so worthwhile in instilling safety advice into children at a very young age.
