THE mother of a student who drowned after a night out is spearheading a campaign to save the needless loss of other lives.
Jackie Roberts lost her 20-year-old student daughter Megan when she fell into the River Ouse in York while walking home after a night out with friends.
Megan, a student at York St John’s University was the first of five people to die in York’s rivers in 2014.
Jackie Roberts with a photo of Megan on the riverside in York.
The Royal Life Saving Society is now re-launching its national campaign, Don’t Drink and Drown, warning students to steer clear of walking by or entering water when under the influences of alcohol.
Jackie, now the RLSS UK Ambassador, said: “January is the time when Megan died and is a particularly dangerous time as students come back to university following the Christmas break.
“This makes students extremely vulnerable especially when the rivers tend to be extremely high and the dark and cold make it much easier for accidents to happen.
The campaign, from January 25 to January 31, warns drinkers, particularly students, to act responsibly near water after they have been drinking, and to make sure they and their friends avoid walking home near bodies of water.
And it stresses that research indicates around a quarter of all adult drowning victims have alcohol in their bloodstream.
RLSS president Peter Moyes said: “Drinking near water can be dangerous and a deadly cocktail. Alcohol can seriously impede your ability to survive in water.”
For more information on the Don’t Drink and Drown campaign visit rlss.org.uk or facebook.com/RLSSUK
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