Tag: danger

Mother who tragically lost her son warns of dangers of open water

The mother of a young man from Fife who tragically lost his life last summer at a local beauty spot is warning of the dangers of open water.

Keivan Ulhaq, 20, had been socialising with friends at Lochore Meadows, known locally as ‘The Meedies’, when he entered the water on a Saturday evening last June.

His mum Sheena Ulhaq says that despite him being a strong and active young man he got into difficulty.

Sheena, who lives in Cowdenbeath with Keivan’s eight siblings and husband Nisar, wants to prevent anyone else going through the tragic events of June 20 last year.

She said: “Keivan was happy go lucky and he loved life. He doted on his younger brothers and sisters. We all miss him so much.

“On the day he died I remember the weather was really nice and I was at home decorating.

“He had gone to The Meedies with some friends, but the water was still freezing cold despite the weather.

“Keivan was really active and was always doing back flips, especially if we were at the beach then he’d do back flips into the water.

“But that day he struggled despite being a six foot big strapping lad. He suffered cold water shock and had a cardiac arrest.

“It’s really important that people are aware of the dangers of open water because I wouldn’t want this to happen to anyone else.

“I’m so grateful for all the support I’ve had, since Keivan died, from everyone who knows the family and I thank them from the bottom of my heart.”

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service was alerted to the incident at Lochore Meadows last June and mobilised two appliances and a water rescue unit to the scene to assist emergency service partners. 

Deputy Assistant Chief Officer Alasdair Perry said: “We are grateful to Sheena for speaking about her story, and the tragic circumstances in which Keivan lost his life, to improve the safety of others.

“We want people to stay safe around water this summer. However, our crews regularly respond to emergency calls from people in difficulty who need to be rescued.

“We all like heading outdoors at this time of year, but unsupervised water can be extremely dangerous.

“Open water can become very cold just a few feet under the surface and can cause cramps or Cold Water Shock meaning your strength and ability to swim deteriorates rapidly.”

Since Keivan’s death, SFRS has worked with partners to install new water safety signs and lifesaving throwline equipment at Lochore Meadows to protect the public.

Sheena Ulhaq is also raising funds for more equipment, including a defibrillator.

Station Commander Michael Gemmell, based in Fife, said: “What happened to Keivan was a tragedy and it’s devastating for everyone who knew him.

“Unless you are fully trained, competent and equipped to enter water courses, keep a safe distance from water.

“This isn’t about spoiling anyone’s fun, it’s about preventing anyone else from needlessly losing their life.”

Visit the water safety page in the Your Safety section on the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service website for information on how to stay safe.

Clock change cancellation could save UK economy £160m a year

Based on previous Government estimates that 80 lives a year could be saved by scrapping the October clock change, the UK could reduce the number of people killed on our roads by four and a half per cent and save the economy £160m, says the UK’s largest independent road safety charity, IAM RoadSmart, who is calling on the Government to stop the practice.

The charity believes that moving to a permanent daylight-saving system would significantly improve road safety, especially for vulnerable road users such as children, pedestrians and cyclists.

“Every year there are unnecessary victims of road collisions throughout the winter months during commutes to work or school which could easily be avoided if the Government scrapped the process of changing the clocks,” comments Neil Greig, Policy and Research Director at IAM RoadSmart.

“Young pedestrians under 15 are already a huge ‘at risk’ group for road safety, and that risk becomes even greater as the nights draw in.

“Stopping the change of clocks would be easy to implement and, without question, would save lives – there are no good road safety reasons why this isn’t happening. The UK should at least set up a two-year trial to prove the benefits once and for all.”

Indeed, in November and December 2019, the number of pedestrian and cyclist deaths and injuries rose by 344 (from 6,787 to 7,131 representing a five per cent increase) compared with the two months prior to the clock change. 

Well-established figures prove that casualty rates rise between 3pm and 7pm as the days shorten. IAM RoadSmart warns that the dark afternoons are an especially dangerous time for youngsters coming home, with less supervision and individuals heading off to different activities at different times during this key period.

To facilitate the improvement, IAM RoadSmart recommended earlier this year that to allow extra daylight in the afternoons, we should not put the clocks back this winter, then next March move one hour ahead – and then go back one hour in October 2021 – a so called ‘double British summer time’.

Neil concluded: “Clearly it is now unfortunately too late to do anything ahead of this weekend, but we urge the Government to reconsider its policy ahead of next March.

“Road safety is now about small incremental gains from a number of policy changes and daylight saving could play its part in helping break the current flat lining in road deaths we are seeing in this country.”

In 1968, the UK Government carried out a three-year experiment which saw the clocks not being put back from March until October 1971, essentially staying in summer time for three years.

Throughout the experiment figures were collected at peak times which revealed that around 2,500 fewer people were killed or injured during the winters where the clocks weren’t put back – this represented a reduction of nearly 12 per cent.