Dog walkers urged to stay clear of frozen lakes

Wed, 15 Dec 2010

Dog walkers are being warned of the dangers of frozen rivers and lakes as freezing temperatures continue to sweep across the UK.

An investigation of 20 frozen water deaths from recent years was conducted by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and revealed that the victim had been attempting to rescue another person or a dog in more than half of the incidents.

Where a dog was involved, it was common for the pet to scramble out to safety when the owner did not. Other incidents involved children who had been playing on the ice.

RoSPA’s head of leisure safety, Peter Cornall, said: "We encourage people, particularly children, to get out and about to enjoy the wintry weather. Ice-related drownings, however, are easily preventable. We advise people to take care around the edges of lakes and rivers because snow can obscure them and we recommend that dogs are kept on a lead so they do not run out on to the ice. Also, avoid throwing sticks or balls on to the ice for dogs to retrieve."

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