Teenage boy drowned in pond becomes 11th person to die in open water as authorities issue fresh heat warning
A teenage boy has died after swimming in a pond in Kent - becoming the 11th person to die in open water amid the UK's record-breaking heatwave.
Listen to this article
Police were called to Galley Hill Road in Swanscombe at 2.55pm on Wednesday following a report of concern for a swimmer in a pond.
Kent Fire and Rescue Service and the South East Coast Ambulance Service attended and sadly the body of a teenage boy was recovered was recovered.
He has not yet been named or pictured.
His death is not being treated as suspicious at this time and a report will be prepared for the coroner.
The UK Health Security Agency has issued a fresh heat health alert for parts of England, as officials warn of a greater risk of water-related deaths.
The yellow alert is in place between 4pm on Thursday and 8pm on Saturday for eastern and south-east England and London.
The alert means water-related incidents could increase including risks from cold-water shock and drowning.
Nine other people, mainly youngsters, across the UK have died after getting into difficulty in open water.
The latest death was announced on Wednesday morning after a body was found in the search for a 12-year-old boy who went missing in a river in Lancashire. He has since been named as Junior Slater from Clayton-le-Woods.
He was last seen with friends entering the River Ribble in Ribchester at about 2pm on Tuesday.
In a tribute released through the force, his family said: “Our little blue-eyed boy. He will be truly missed. He was the life and soul of our lives. Words can’t describe how we are feeling right now. We will forever love you Junior.”
Reco Puttock, 13, died in hospital after being pulled from the water at a popular swimming spot in Halifax at around 3.20pm on Monday.
Abbie Carmody-Pepper, 19, drowned during a day out at County Dublin beach on Sunday.
Two other boys and a 15-year-old girl lost their lives in Lincolnshire, West and South Yorkshire, as well as Warwickshire over the weekend.
Then hours later, the body of the girl was recovered from a lake at a country park in Warwickshire.
South Yorkshire Police also responded to reports that a teenager had gone into the lake at Rother Valley County Park in Rotherham. His body was recovered in the early hours of Tuesday.
Emergency services recovered his body in the early hours of this morning. It came a day after 15-year-old Declan Sawyer drowned at Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln at around 2.30pm on Sunday.
A man in his 60s also died from cardiac arrest after trying to save a relative who got into difficulty in the water at a Cornish beach on Monday.
Phil Crow, 68, was hailed as a hero for trying to save his granddaughter before going into cardiac arrest in the sea at Tregirls Beach in Padstow, Cornwall at around 3.50pm.
The RNLI has warned of the "very real risk" of swimming in open water during the heatwave.
It comes as the Met Office confirmed Tuesday was the UK's hottest recorded May day in history, with temperatures reaching 35C in Heathrow and Kew Gardens, a day after the record was beaten on Monday with highs of 34.8C.
An amber health warning was extended by 24 hours for several regions in England and parts of Wales.
The UK experienced a "tropical night" on Monday as the record for the warmest minimum temperature for May was broken for the second consecutive day.
Temperatures did not fall below 20C overnight on Monday in parts of the UK, with 21.3C recorded at Kenley Airfield, south London.
