Retired Olympic swimmer’s safety warning after boys die in water

A retired British Olympic swimmer has urged people to only swim where it is safe after two boys died in the water in the West Midlands.

Alice Dearing, who specialises in open water swimming and became the first black woman to swim for Great Britain at an Olympic Games in Tokyo in 2021, made the comments on Monday while in the region - days after two boys died in separate incidents in open water.

Eight-year-old Joshua Hillstead, from Birmingham, died in hospital on July 23 after he was pulled from the River Arrow in Alcester, Warwickshire the day before, and the body of 16-year-old Tyrese Johnson was recovered on July 24 after getting into difficulties in Lodge Farm Reservoir, Netherton, in Dudley.

Alice co-founded the Black Swimmers Association (BSA), a non-profit organisation that was set up to diversify the world of aquatics through education, advocacy, support and research and raise awareness about the importance of water safety.

She said the deaths of the two boys were “very tragic” and urged people not to swim in water where there is no lifeguard on duty.

Speaking at Perdiswell Leisure Centre on Monday, she said: “These are really sad cases.

“There’s quite a few statistics around this where about half of drownings happen in June, July and August when the weather gets warm. Cold water shock is a serious issue.

“We always advise the people please please, please, don’t ever jump into water. Only swim where it’s lifeguarded, only somewhere it’s safe.

“There’s a reason these places aren’t lifeguard and if there’s no one there, we just don’t want to see cases like this, but sadly they still happen far too often.”

Alice, 27, said the BSA was created to promote the welfare and inclusion of Black and Asian people in swimming.

She said: “We are mainly looking at water safety, making sure that our communities are safe in and around water and getting that valuable knowledge and experience out to our communities that have been left behind a little bit.

“Basically, we don’t want anyone to drown, so this is looking to help every single person that we come across, but we’re specifically equipped to help Black and Asian communities.”

Speaking last week, Matt Croxall, charity director of the Royal Life Saving Society UK, said: “We tend to see an increase in drownings as the weather gets warmer and in light of the two recent tragic drownings we’ve seen, it’s more important than ever that everybody has the tools to enjoy water safely this summer and beyond.

“More than half of accidental drownings have occurred at inland open water sites – and many of these drownings occur due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of open water safety.

“By taking simple steps and following the Water Safety Code and making people aware of what they need to take into account before they get in, and when they are in the water will save lives – knowing the risks associated and your limits could make all the difference.”