THE Yorkshire Ambulance Service is urging people to take extra care in and around open water during the hot weather.

Every year the service is called to incidents across the region where people have attempted to cool off by swimming in local rivers or open water and gotten into difficulty, then required medical assistance.

Vince Larvin, from the service, said: “Yorkshire’s many waterways are popular destinations for people during the summer months, which can make them dangerous places for those who don’t understand the risks they are taking.

“It may be very appealing to jump into the water to cool off on a warm summer’s day but people need to be aware of how dangerous this really is. Water can look calm on the surface but contain unseen debris, rivers in particular can have treacherous undercurrents.

“The temperature of deep water is much colder than people would expect and, even on a hot summer’s day, the water rarely gets above freezing. It can be cold enough to literally take your breath away.”