Three Londoners drown in 24 hours trying to cool off in hot weather

Tragic: A man died in Shadwell Basin in east London
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Three Londoners have drowned in 24 hours trying to cool off from the summer heatwave.

The tragic deaths led to fresh warnings from rescue workers to exercise caution while swimming in lakes and pools not monitored by lifeguards.

Leon Wilson, 19, was in Lammas Lake near Staines in west London at 5.50pm on Tuesday as he walked with friends to the nearby Lammas waterpark.

The carpenter, who could not swim, slipped several feet down the bank and was dragged underwater by a strong current.

His best friend, Reece Wiley, a trained lifeguard, dived in in a desperate rescue attempt but was unable to locate him. His body was retrieved from the lake two hours later by police divers.

Friends of Mr Wilson, who had started a new job the day before he died, today told the Standard of their devastation.

Leon Wilson, 21, fell into Lammas Lake near Staines in west London on Tuesday
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A close friend said: “It was a tragic accident. He was walking along with five or six friends and they were playing around like young people do, pushing and shoving at the water’s edge.

“He couldn’t swim and when he fell in he went under. His friend dived in to help but he couldn’t save him.”

Mr Wilson, who had three siblings and lived at home in Feltham with his parents and best friend Reece, was described as “an amazing guy who made everyone smile.”

Close friend Lauren Thatcher said: “He was just a lovely person. Like any other young person he liked going out with his friends and having a good time, but he also loved his family a great deal.

“He was an uncle and loved playing with his two young nephews and his niece. We are all in shock, his friends who were there are completely distraught.

“Reece was like a brother to him. He did everything he could to save him, it’s just heartbreaking. His parents are devastated.”

Mr Wilson, a former pupil at Lampton School in Hounslow graduated from West Thames College several years ago with a B-Tech in carpentry.

The tragic accident happened around two hours before a 44-year-old man from south-west London drowned off Brighton beach.

Witnesses described desperate efforts by paramedics to save the life of the man who was plucked from the sea by two members of the public about 200 yards from Brighton Pier.

He had got into difficulty while swimming and a friend who was with him called the ambulance service. He was taken to Royal Sussex County Hospital where he died shortly afterwards.

Elizabeth West, a 34-year-old GP receptionist, said: “I saw the paramedics at the water’s edge frantically pumping his chest trying to revive him. There was big crowd around them.

“They were doing everything they could, lifting him and carrying him up the beach short distance on a stretcher before trying to resuscitate him again. It must have been about 30 minutes before they got him into the ambulance.

“The beach was packed with people enjoying the evening sun after work. There was a shocked silence as people watched. It’s so sad, we all just hoped he would be okay.”

The third fatality happened at lunchtime yesterday when a 29-year-old man enjoying the sunshine with two friends drowned in Shadwell Basin, Wapping.

The young man jumped into the water at just before 1pm and failed to surface. Emergency services scrambled to the scene but a large crowd saw his lifeless body later pulled out of the water by a police diver.

Dominic King, 36, a songwriter who lives nearby said: “It was packed. There were about 100 people still there jumping in and swimming.

“There were two little kids swimming about 30 seconds away and the police told them to get out.

“A diver went in for three minutes and came back with his body under his arm. Police officers dragged him up and medics rushed over and administered CPR but I knew – he’d been under for 20 minutes. It’s so sad.

“But even as they carried him out there were still people swimming nearby. It’s beautiful but it’s dangerous. What a waste of life.”

A friend of the victim wrote online: “I’m deeply saddened by this news. I’ll remember you the way you lived my friend it was time for your transition. Like a rainbow fading in the twinkling of an eye.”

Mike Dunn, Director of Education at Royal Lifesaving Society, told the Standard: “These recent drownings seem to be a tragic repetition of what we have seen in previous summers when there is a spike in incidents in hot weather.

“We would urge people to enjoy the hot weather and if they want to cool off to go to safe lifeguarded areas and don’t risk becoming one of these tragic statistics.”

The charity warns most people in the UK drown in inland waters such as lakes and rivers where there were dangerous undercurrents and debris, and 40 per cent of deaths came from people falling into water.

Other deaths in the heatwave include 16-year-old Jack Pullen drowned on Tuesday having got into trouble while swimming with friends in a river in Broadbottom, near Hyde in Greater Manchester.

While on Monday night a man aged 46 drowned after jumping into the River Trent in Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire.

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