Girl, 15, dies after swimming at beach

Merseyside Police

A 15-year-old girl who got into difficulty swimming in the sea at a beach has died.

Chiedza Nyanjowa, from Cheshire, was taken to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital in a critical condition after the swim at Formby beach on Bank Holiday Monday and died earlier on Saturday, Merseyside Police said.

Emergency services were called to reports of a concern for safety at the beach on Albert Road at about 15:30 BST.

In a tribute, Chiedza’s family said she would be “greatly missed and remembered for her kind spirit”.

Members of the public had tried to help Chiedza, the force said.

Her family said they “would like to express their gratitude to everyone that helped” her and they were “glad that there were people around her to support her, their support shows that she was loved”.

“This is a difficult time for the family, who would appreciate any form of prayer,” they added.

They described Chiedza as “a bubbly person, she loved Christ and going to church.

“She loved cooking, she was a giver and wanted to be nurse when she grew up so she could give back.”

There have been at least 12 water-related deaths during the hot weather, including that of a 12-year-old boy whose body was found in the River Ribble in Ribchester, Lancashire and a 17-year-old boy who went missing at Pick Mere lake in Cheshire.

Young people have also died in Kent, Oxford, Lincoln, Halifax, Rotherham, Warwickshire, Farnborough and Scotland, along with a man in his 60s in Cornwall and a woman in her 70s in Wales.

Meanwhile, a man was taken to hospital after he was rescued from a lake in Nottinghamshire on Thursday, and extensive searches for a man who got into difficulty in the water in the Norfolk Broads have been suspended.

The Royal Life Saving Society issued a warning following the fatal incidents saying “warmer weather unfortunately sees an increase in accidental drownings”.

RLSS warned water temperatures remained very cold despite increased air temperatures, and cold water shock can make swimming difficult and harder to get out of the water.

Anyone who sees someone in an emergency in the water should call 999, stay out of the water themselves and throw them something that floats, such as a plastic water bottle or football for them to hold on to, the RLSS added.

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Merseyside Police