North Yorkshire fire chief recounts how he stepped in to stop child being pressured by friends into jumping into dangerous waterfall

Andrew Brodie, Chief Officer for North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service, happened across the group of friends "by coincidence" while taking a walk at Stainforth, near Settle, on Monday evening.

He said: "I stopped next to the waterfall there, next to Stainforth, and as I approached it there were signs warning people about the dangers of entering the water.

"It's a really dangerous piece of water there – very fast-moving and very strong. When I was there, there were four young people who had clearly been in the water because they were soaking wet."

He added that one of the young people in the group who was dry "was being put under an awful lot of peer pressure to enter the water".

"They were ready to jump in the water until I spoke to them, and I was able to share with them the risks that they were going to face and asked if the risk of death was 'worth the peer pressure you're being put under', and it stopped them from jumping. Their friends stopped jumping in as well. It was quite remarkable."

Mr Brodie's timely anecdote came as part of a discussion about water safety in the North Yorkshire Police, Crime and Fire Commissioner's accountability meeting, held virtually as a live broadcast.

Commissioner Julia Mulligan expressed concerns that the number of cancelled holidays and increase in 'staycations' over the summer meant there would be higher risk of people getting into danger in open water.

Mr Brodie added that he was "encouraged" by the work being carried out by the fire service to raise awareness of the dangers of swimming in open water, similar to the one he had with the group on Monday evening.

"That's going to do more to avert the risk that people will drown or be injured in water than pretty much anything else," he said.

"For me last night, it was pure coincidence that I was there."

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson (Editor)