Young people seen jumping from bridges into reservoirs despite harrowing warnings

Dozens were seen jumping into the water at the beauty spot near Aughton yesterday (June 25), in spite of the fire brigade’s campaign launched at the weekend following the death of 19-year-old Taylor Matthews in open water at Skelbrooke Quarry.

The fire brigade shared a photo of people crowding round the water’s edge to jump in, as South Yorkshire experienced a heat wave where temperatures rose to 30C.

A spokesperson from South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue said: “Last weekend we launched a new campaign asking people to stay out of open water - whatever the weather.

“We shared the story of 19-year-old Taylor Matthews. He was a strong swimmer who jumped into Skelbrooke Quarry and never came out again.

“Unfortunately, yesterday, our firefighters witnessed large amounts of young people jumping into the reservoir at Ulley Country Park.

“We've blurred the faces on this, the view from our fire engine, as we've no interest in naming and shaming people.

“All we ask is that you speak to your kids about how dangerous it is to jump into open water.

“For them, for you, for us, please don't let them become another drowning statistic.”

Taylor Matthews died after he jumped into open water during a heatwave in 2018.

Following his death, his mum issued a plea to those considering jumping into water in hot weather.