THE dangerous of open water are being raised tomorrow on World Drowning Prevention Day - after a week which has seen six people die from drowning in Yorkshire.

The National Water Safety Forum has welcomed the first World Drowning Prevention Day, which was instigated by the UN in April to inform nations they need a coordinated response to address the issue.

It comes at the end of a week which has seen six people die across the county from drowning, while there have been a number of drowning deaths in the Bradford district and surrounding area already this year, including two involving children.

In the last week, on Sunday a man drowned at Pugneys Country Park in Wakefield and and a man in his 50s drowned in the River Ouse, and a man was found drowned at Crookes Valley Park in Sheffield.

On Tuesday a 15-year-old boy drowned in a canal in Knottingley, while on Thursday 19-year-old Ben Marklew drowned in the River Wharfe in Grassington and a 55-year-old man drowned in the sea off Filey.

The National Water Safety Forum (NWSF), a network of more than 50 organisations who work together in order to reduce water-related deaths and associated harm in the UK, has welcomed the awareness day tomorrow.

Dawn Whittaker, NWSF chair, said: “Tomorrow, individuals and organisations from across the globe will be marking the first World Drowning Prevention Day and speaking with one voice to say that anyone can drown, but no one should.

"I know I speak for all members of the National Water Safety Forum when I say that I welcome the UN resolution on drowning prevention and this new awareness-raising day which is all the more poignant because of the recent spike in accidental drownings during the hot weather this month.

"I look forward to seeing the impact of World Drowning Prevention Day in the years to come.”

Earlier this year 14-year-old Mohammad Abu Farhan drowned at Goit Stock Waterfall in Harden in March, and in June Bradford City academy player Tomi Solomon drowned in a river in Brighouse.

Last July, Bradford teen Mohammed Bilal Zeb drowned at Linton Falls in Grassington, just weeks after the 18-year-old had got married.