The dad of a Scot who drowned in the River Clyde has told how three water deaths in the last ten days have brought him back to the day he lost his own son.
Duncan Spiers said he has been left saddened after the deaths at beauty spots during Scotland's recent heatwave - including 14-year-old schoolgirl Nieve McIsaac. The teenager died at Royal Children's Hospital in Glasgow on July 16 after getting into difficulty in the water at River Teith in Bridge of Allan.
Kayaker Stuart Bailey, 51, was later recovered from the River Spey near Fochabers in Moray on Sunday, July 17, after he capsized. On Saturday July 9, the body of a 24-year-old man was also recovered from the Falls of Falloch near Crianlarich.
Duncan lost his son Christopher in 2016, after he drowned in the River Clyde aged 28. In the six years since, the 57-year-old, from Glasgow, has been campaigning for better water safety across Scotland.
Duncan told the Record: "This is becoming a tragic trend that needs to end. Every year we see deaths when the weather gets warmer.
"It hits our family hard and brings us right back to when we lost Christopher.
"We can't bear to see any more families go through what we went through. It's so sad and it hurts, my heart goes out to each and every family that has lost a loved one.
"It makes us fight even harder to get water safety recognised."
He continued: "Please, just respect the water and take care.
"We've seen videos of people jumping from great lengths into the water. It may seem fun to jump from piers and quarries, but it is not worth it.
If you are thinking about going in water, look around to make sure there is water safety equipment that you can use before you get in the water.
"You don't know what can happen within a blink of an eye."
Christopher's Saving Lives Campaign has seen water safety equipment installed by the River Clyde in Glasgow and safety signage erected in parks throughout the city. The couple are pushing to have specialised ropes and more safety signs erected by waterways in every council area in Scotland.
The latest figures from the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) show that last year, a total of 277 people lost their lives to accidental drowning in the UK - including 58 in Scotland.
The figures - which were up from 254 and 39 in the UK and Scotland respectively in 2020 - include the deaths of six people who drowned in Scottish watercourses such as Loch Lomond in four separate incidents in one weekend during warm weather last July.
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