Training session planned in Ludlow to help save people from drowning

Now a training session is being organised in Ludlow to show people what to do if they see someone is in trouble, including if they have gone in after their dog.

James Sutherland, prevention officer for road and water safety with Shropshire Fire and Rescue Service said: “Nationally, around half of people who drown had no intention of being in water – they may have been walking, running, near the water and fallen in or jumped in the water after their dog."

Ludlow Town Council is working in conjunction with Shropshire Fire and Rescue and RNLI to offer river safety training.

The event will take place on Thursday, July 6 at 1pm and last for about two hours, with practical and theoretical elements.

It is free and available to residents in and around Ludlow to provide them with the tools and knowledge of river safety.

The safety course will take approximately two hours and include practical and theoretical elements.

Mr Sutherland said: "Last year, in partnership with Ludlow Town Council, two throwline boards were installed in key areas in Ludlow, one at the Linney and one at Dinham Millennium Green.

"To support these installations, we have arranged a training session for the public on July 6 that will enable them to not only provide the initial assistance to anyone that gets in difficulty in the water but also give them the information they need to give water safety advice prior to anyone even getting into the water."

This training is delivered in partnership with the RNLI.

He added: “The boards have key life-saving advice on them as well as accurate location details in the event that the emergency services need to be contacted.

"Each board is bespoke to its location and has a unique code so that emergency services can identify where the incident is as quickly as possible.

“On these boards there is a ‘locked’ box, which is accessed by a code given to the caller by our fire control room operators, which contains a throwline that gives people a means of assisting someone in trouble without risking entering the water themselves.

“We’ve welcomed this opportunity to work in partnership with Ludlow Town Council and the RNLI to help make Shropshire safer and prevent further tragedies in the water.”

To book your place on the training course, you should email deputy town clerk Kate Adams at Kate.Adams@ludlow.gov.uk.