Firefighters took to the water to raise awareness of its dangers.

Three members of Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service held on to each other for stability as they waded into the cold and fast-flowing River Eden.

The casualty was lying on rocks a few yards upstream from the Sands Centre.

Kasey Grainger reached down and picked up the body. The 'casualty' in this case was a bundle of fire service kit.

The rescue part of the fire and rescue service came to the fore with this demonstration in Carlisle.

The exercise, during national safety campaign Be Water Aware, came as figures show that Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service attended 130 water-related incidents in 2017-18.

Drowning is one of the UK's leading causes of accidental death. Each year more than 300 people drown after tripping, falling or just underestimating the risks associated with water.

Crews from Carlisle and Penrith came together to demonstrate their expertise - and to ask people not to put this to the test.

A crew of four had paddled a rigid inflatable boat before Casey and her colleagues Dave Burn and Tom Wright waded in.

Dave is crew manager with Red Watch in Carlisle. "When you turn up to an incident there's no guarantee it will go as swimmingly as the training, pardon the pun," he said.

Watch manager Stuart Adams emphasised the fire service's growing role in water rescue. While the Coastguard still covers sea rescues, inland is now usually the preserve of the fire service.
Watch manager Stuart Adams

"When you look at rings by the water, the signs used to say 'Ring 999 and ask for the coastguard.' Now it says ask for the fire service. We can respond a lot quicker. We're dotted all round the county.

"It's rivers, lakes, ponds. We can be out looking for people that are missing, people stuck, body recoveries. And rescuing people's dogs.

"A lot of people think, why should we rescue animals? But if we don't, the owner might go into the water. We're reducing the risk of that."

Stuart urges people not to try and rescue pets, or people, if their rescue bid involves entering the water.

"More often than not the rescuers get into the biggest difficulty, especially if they're panicking.

"If someone's on the scene they think 'I must take action.' They get cold water shock. With that involuntary gasp you take in water. Usually it's moving water. It strips your body of heat much faster.

"People should get on the phone to us as soon as possible. And do what they can without getting themselves in the water. If there's something long enough for the person in the water to grab and for you to hold onto, throw it to them. Or something buoyant like a ring."

Stuart also warned of the risk of getting too close to the water and falling in.

Last January, just yards from here, a woman clinging to a bush was rescued by firefighters after Pauline Latimer, 55, threw the woman her retractable dog lead. Firefighters said Pauline saved her life.

Dave Burn has rescued children from underneath Eden Bridge not far down downstream. He warned that summer will soon bring its own dangers.

"Especially on warm days, people by riverbanks having a picnic, everything's fine. But the water is still freezing cold. The surface water could be 15 degrees but it might be two degrees just a metre down. Your body shuts down. You can't move your limbs. You can't feel your fingers and toes. You get cold very quickly."


Nicola Bell Nicola Bell of Red Watch said: "One of my first jobs was a body recovery, further down this river. A man had gone in the river and just disappeared. We found him eventually. I always tell my children, you can't be over cautious with water. You can look at the river and think it's not fast-flowing. But once you get in there..."

All these firefighters have rescued people from water in Cumbrian towns during the floods which have struck since 2005. "That's stuff you can't train for, piloting a boat through streets," said Dave. "That's a different animal altogether."