Seven boys have died since 5 July and rescue services fear this will have doubled by end of the month
- UK extreme weather: latest updates
It is a grimly familiar toll. Since the start of the heatwave, seven teenage boys have lost their lives in suspected drownings at lakes, canals, quarries and rivers across the UK as they sought to cool down with friends in record temperatures.
Now rescue services are warning this number is likely to double by the end of July, as young people remain unaware of the dangers of jumping into cold water in hot weather and are prone to taking risks in unsafe waters without adults around. On Tuesday it was announced that a total of 13 people had died in open water since the start of the heatwave.
5 July Nicolae Topa – the 17-year-old’s body was found after he entered Fairlop Waters, a lake in Ilford, east London, to swim.
9 July Jamie Lewin – the 16-year-old drowned at East Quarry in Appley Bridge near Wigan.
11 July Alfie McCraw – the 16-year-old from Wakefield died after getting into trouble in the water in the South Washlands area of the Aire and Calder Navigation in West Yorkshire.
16 July Kalen Waugh – the 16-year-old died after being spotted in trouble in the water at Salford Quays.
17 July Robert Hattersley – the 13-year-old drowned in the River Tyne near Ovingham in Northumbria.
18 July A 16-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty in Bray Lake, near Maidenhead, Berkshire.
18 July A 14-year-old boy drowned in the River Thames in Richmond, south-west London.
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