THE full scale of the tragic loss of life in Britain’s rivers has been highlighted in a new report – as The Press’s own campaign to reveal the dangers of water gathers pace.

A report by the Missing People’s charity has shown that 400 people died in just one year as a result of accidents or other incidents in inland water.

It also revealed in the first four months of this year ten men have died in rivers after going missing on a night out – this compares to 12 men in the whole of last year.

All of these men were last seen leaving a nightclub, bar or pub, the report says, and about one in three of all accidental drowning involve men aged between 13 and 35 years.

The charity has also called for new technology to be used so victims of river tragedies can be found and identified sooner, saying it would help to ease their families’ anguish.

The report said police and other search agencies should examine whether new technologies, such as water scanners, can aid the early discovery of bodies in water.

In nearly two-thirds of men reported missing and later found in rivers and waterways this year and last, a body was not recovered until more than a week later.

The figures come as nearly 2,500 people have now visited The Press website and You Tube to see our Think Don't Swim film, as part of our river awareness campaign.

The emotive seven-minute film - a combination of a fictional dramatisation showing a couple who meet in a nightclub then decide to go skinny dipping in the River Ouse, with tragic consequences, together with a poignant interview with the family of Richard Horrocks, the 21-year-old bartender whose death sparked the campaign - is available to view at yorkpress.co.uk/news/campaigns/ thinkdontswim/film.

Other interviewees in the film by Christopher David, of York-based Flash Frame Productions, include former York coroner's officer Ian Gillies who spoke about his experiences in dealing with bodies in the rivers.