A multi-agency search operation is underway after a 15-year-old boy went missing after last being seen swimming in a lake in Southampton.
Police marine units have joined emergency services in the search for the boy, who was reported missing at 1.35pm today after last being seen swimming at Testwood Lakes, near Totton.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “A multi-agency operation is underway following a report that a 15-year-old boy is missing after he was last seen swimming at Testwood Lakes near Totton.
“This was reported to police at 1.35pm on Wednesday, June 24, and the area is currently off limits while our search operation is ongoing. Please avoid the area at this time. Please avoid the area at this time.
TRENDING
Stories
Videos
Your Say
“We have deployed the marine units to aid in the search, alongside colleagues from NPAS, South Central Ambulance Service, and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service.”
The main gate to the lake area has been closed and people are urged to avoid the area.
The search comes just weeks after an Oxford professor revealed to GB News that one in four children cannot swim and child drowning deaths have doubled in England.
Professor Carl Heneghan, Director of Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, spoke out after 11 heartbreaking drowning deaths during Britain's record-breaking May heatwave.
Police have urged people to stay away from the area while the search continues
|FACEBOOK/TESTWOOD LAKES
The urgent care GP said new rules should be introduced, ensuring every child can demonstrate basic water safety skills before leaving primary school.
Prof Heneghan carried out research showing the recent tragedies are not isolated incidents but part of a national “swimming crisis”.
His analysis reveals more than one in four children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres unaided, despite swimming being a compulsory part of the national curriculum.
This means hundreds of thousands of youngsters are leaving school without a basic life-saving skill. And the numbers are far higher – 35 per cent – among low-income families.
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:
One in four children in the UK are unable to swim upon leaving school, recent research has revealed
| GETTYHis research also shows an estimated 14 million adults cannot swim a 25-metre length. His warning comes after seven child and teenage and four adult drowning tragedies during May's spell of exceptionally warm weather.
Water safety experts have repeatedly warned open water can remain dangerously cold even during hot weather, increasing the risk of cold-water shock.
The condition can cause involuntary gasping, breathing difficulties and panic, making it difficult even for competent swimmers to stay afloat.
But Professor Heneghan said the recent tragedies should not simply be viewed as a consequence of unusual weather conditions.
He said: “These should be ‘never events’ which means they should not happen at all, and yet we have dozens every year. The UK has a swimming crisis.
“Improving swimming and water safety skills from an early age onward would make a huge impact in preventing these tragedies.
“We urgently need to take steps to improve primary school swimming provision. This is a straightforward public health and safety priority.
“Swimming is a curriculum requirement and life-saving skill, yet a significant minority of children leave school unable to swim safely. The UK’s geography – extensive coastline, rivers, canals and water recreation – makes water safety particularly important.”