A NATIONAL lifesaving charity has launched a water safety campaign featuring the mothers of the children who died after an incident off Bournemouth beach.

The Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) is the UK's leading drowning prevention charity.

To mark the beginning of  Drowning Prevention Week which takes place between June 15 and 22, the charity released a powerful video involving the mothers of Joe Abbess, 17, and Sunnah Khan, 12.

Vanessa Abbess and Stephanie Williams lost their children on May 31, 2023, after they drowned.

One year on, both mothers are determined to raise awareness that drowning can happen to anyone, regardless of swimming ability, and every child and parent needs to be educated on water safety.

Stephanie Williams, mother of Sunnah Khan, said: “Although difficult to speak about, we wanted to do the video to honour Sunnah and Joe’s lives and highlight just how important it is to be aware of the dangers of water.”

Vanessa Abbess, mother of Joe Abbess, said: “I hope that through sharing the painful story of Joe and Sunnah, we are able to reach as many people as possible – and potentially save lives by educating others on the importance of water safety because it can really happen to anyone."

Speaking about the video, Matt Croxall, charity director at RLSS UK, said: “We hope this all-important video educates and resonates with parents across the UK and urges them to have the water safety conversation with their children.

“We can’t thank Vanessa and Stephanie enough for their incredible bravery in speaking out and sharing their tragic stories with others, in the hopes of making a difference and saving even just one life.”

RLSS UK has shared data showing a total of 125 children have accidentally lost their lives to drowning in the last five years – with 26 drownings taking place in 2023 alone.

The data also reveals 66 per cent of these drownings were teenagers, those aged between 13 and 17 years.

Matt Croxall added: “The alarming increase in tragic child drowning deaths in England also highlights just how important it is that families are aware of the importance of water safety and have the correct knowledge to make the right decisions around water.”

The video can be watched on the RLSS website.