FIRE chiefs are urging people to stay safe around rivers after new figures revealed nearly 50 per cent of people who drown never intended to be in the water.

North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has joined senior firefighters around the country to warn people of the dangers and raise awareness about how every day activities next to the water can be life threatening.

Runners, walkers and fisherman are being targeted by the Be Water Aware campaign, which is being run by the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC) until April 30, because they are often unprepared for being in the water.

Dawn Whittaker, Chief Fire Officers Association’s water safety leader, said: “Most people would be shocked to hear that those people drowning just happen to be near water, such as runners, walkers and fisherman.

“They are unaware of the risks and are totally unprepared for the scenario of ending up in the water.

“By highlighting this issue and making sure simple safety messages reach them we hope to reduce the number of these needless deaths.”

The latest statistics show that in 2015, 321 people died after tripping, falling or simply underestimating the risks associated with being near water.

The fire service has successfully reduced the number of fire deaths by focusing on prevention work and now it is applying the same principle to tackling drowning.

York has a long history of people drowning. One of the most recent fatalities was student Ethan Peters.

Ethan, 20, was a third year student at the University of York and went missing following a night out on Sunday, October 2.

Extensive searches were carried out following his disappearance, and his body was found in the River Foss on the afternoon of Sunday, October 9, 2016.

The county’s emergency service will be giving advice to people on what they should look out for and how to change their behaviour to minimise their risk of becoming one of these statistics.

Messages will be posted on social media using the hashtag #BeWaterAware and people are encouraged to share the posts to spread the message.

The first thing people should do if they see someone in the water is call for help straight away.

Phone 999, if you are near the coast ask for the coastguard, if you are inland ask for fire service and ambulance.

Accurate information can also save precious minutes. If you have a smart phone and have location services or map tool enabled, this can help. If not look for any landmarks or signs – for example bridges will often have numbers on them which can identify their location.