York has not been a major port for centuries. So it can be easy to forget that the city and its outlying areas are awash with water.

It may be that we are complacent about the dangers.

Certainly the number of tragic accidents is alarmingly high. More than 550 people drowned in Britain last year, most in inland waters.

In North Yorkshire, a couple on honeymoon died after apparently being washed away in the River Wharfe.

Four disabled people died after their barge sank on a canal in the Yorkshire Dales. And seven people drowned in York in separate incidents.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents is so concerned it has issued a new booklet giving safety advice on inland waterways.

We should all take their advice to heart. In summer, some people seem to think any stretch of water is an outdoor swimming pool. We must treat our rivers with more respect if we are to cut the death toll this year.

Converted for the new archive on 30 June 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.