DESPITE today’s thunderstorms we are in the middle of a heatwave and, when the sun comes out people get hot and bothered. They even do stupid things like jumping in the river in the middle of the afternoon after a session down the pub.

Only football matches make us act dafter than sunshine, which is why today sees the launch of a summer campaign designed to prevent people doing things they might later regret.

Plan Safe, Drink Safe, Home Safe was developed and market-tested by York St John University Students’ Union, and has been adopted by the emergency services, City of York Council, the Canal Trust and the University of York.

The campaign is being targeted at 17 to 30-year-olds who are considered most at risk and safety messages will be seen on buses, on mobile screens touring the city centre, at York Hospital, even on beer mats.

Chief Constable Dave Jones says it’s all about getting people to think about how much they’re drinking and we fully support that idea, because too often one for the road ends up as one for A&E or even worse.

So we hope people will heed the advice to be aware of the associated dangers and think about how to stay safe while enjoying the summer sun.

The campaign’s tag line is less drinking, more thinking. Wouldn’t that be nice?