THOUSANDS of children will be more wary around water, thanks to the generosity of family and friends of a tragic student.

Euan Coulthard, a 19-year-old law undergraduate, drowned in the River Wear following a night out in Durham in January – the third Durham University student to perish in the river in 15 months.

Following his death, his family asked for donations to be made to the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS), the UK’s leading drowning prevention charity.

Now those donations, plus funding from RLSS itself and support from Durham’s council and fire brigade, have led to every County Durham school getting water safety education.

Over the last two months, 150 drowning prevention packs have been sent to schools, potentially reaching up to 37,500 youngsters.

Information was also made available online, schools were invited to a water safety day and more than 100 children learned lifesaving skills during a one-off session at Stanhope’s open-air swimming pool.

Hester Coulthard, Euan’s mother, said: “Euan was a lovely, bright young man who had such a bright future, now gone from our family. I would hate this to happen to anyone or have their family go through what we have been going through.”

She added: “Always stay safe and respect the water at all times.”

Kevin Lough, chair of Durham County Council’s open water safety group, said: “We’re extremely grateful to Euan’s family and friends as well as the RLSS UK.

“An entire generation of County Durham youngsters will go on their summer holidays with extra knowledge regarding how to stay safe around the water.”

Euan’s death, along with those of his fellow Durham students Sope Peters and Luke Pearce, prompted a raft of safety improvements, including a so-called drunk tank, riverside angels support scheme, pub door breath tests and better taxi and night bus services.

Also, following an independent report from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), £230,000 from the council, university and cathedral is being spent beefing up safety around the river, with new fences and lights and improvements to footpaths and riverbanks.

Around 400 people drown in the UK and Ireland every year.