Notts mum who lost son in drowning accident warns parents after frozen river rescue

A mum whose son drowned after heroically saving a friend and while trying to save another has again joined forces with Nottinghamshire Police to warn of the dangers of entering open water.
By Rahmah Ghazali
Published 15th Feb 2021, 19:15 GMT
Updated 15th Feb 2021, 22:17 GMT
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Nicola Jenkins spoke of her shock and the painful memories which came back to her after hearing about the dramatic rescue of two 11-year-old girls on Saturday after they had walked over a frozen part of the River Trent and becoming trapped.

One of the girls fell through the ice into the freezing water before the alarm was raised by a passer-by. The other made it to an island but was stranded with no way back over the broken ice.

Drone footage capturing the dramatic moment one of the girls was brought to safety has been released by Nottinghamshire Police in a bid to highlight the dangers of entering the River Trent, especially when it is icy.

A mum whose son drowned after saving a friend and trying to save another has again joined forces with Nottinghamshire Police to warn of the dangers of entering open water.A mum whose son drowned after saving a friend and trying to save another has again joined forces with Nottinghamshire Police to warn of the dangers of entering open water.
A mum whose son drowned after saving a friend and trying to save another has again joined forces with Nottinghamshire Police to warn of the dangers of entering open water.
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The incident was just a few hundred metres away from the area where 12-year-old Owen Jenkins tragically died after being dragged under by a strong current while trying to rescue two friends who had got into difficulty in the water at Beeston Weir in July 2017.

After rescuing one friend, who’d got into difficulties, Owen returned to the water to rescue another friend but the current was too strong and it dragged him under. Sadly he didn't resurface. Owen gave his life to save another and died a hero.

Nicola said: “When I heard what had happened to these girls my heart dropped and I just thought God I hope they’re okay. It took me straight back to what happened with Owen.

“Children think they’re safe walking out on ice and just don’t see the danger of it.

“These open water areas do not have thick enough ice to withstand your weight, especially as the water gets deeper. You are likely to fall through the ice into freezing water, become stranded and suffer cold water shock rapidly.

“That’s where your body goes into an automatic shock response so your heart beats faster and you start gasping for air.

“I’m urging parents to speak to their children about the dangers of open water and frozen open water.”

Nicola founded the Open Water Education Network (OWEN) water safety programme in Owen’s memory.