A SAFETY campaign launched after the deaths of two young men in a reservoir has won national recognition.

Yorkshire Water joined the police, fire and ambulance services and Hambleton District Council after the tragedies in Cod Beck, near Osmotherley, North Yorkshire.

Extra signs were put up, leaflets were handed out and information days were held after the first drowning in 2004, but when a second death followed less than 12 months later, a more direct approach was agreed to drive home the message that cold water kills.

Young actors from the Three Tequilas Drama Group helped to film an uncompromising reconstruction of a sunny day that leads to tragedy, filmed at Cod Beck with the backing of both bereaved families.

The DVD, titled Dying To Be Cool, has been shown to teenagers at schools across the county and has now won accolades from Water UK, which represents the water industry in the media and Government.

The group's chairman, Richard Ackroyd, said: "We were impressed by the quality of the DVD, which pulls no punches.

"It is quite difficult to reach young adults, who are often full of bravado or resistance to authority, but we have been told the film has silenced rooms full of teenagers and, having seen it, it is easy to see why."

Hambleton Community Safety Partnership chairwoman Rosemary Taylor said Water UK's recognition was an important step for the project.

She said: "We know this film is a good way of educating young people on the dangers of swimming in open water.

"To have the endorsement of Water UK is a testament to the hard work put in to create it, and our determination to prevent any more tragic deaths."