Stretches of the Leeds-Liverpool Canal will be closed at times next week after a lack of rainfall led to low levels in some Yorkshire and Lancashire reservoirs, leaving the canal locks unable to be filled. Yorkshire Water has also warned that it may have to implement water restrictions, such as a ban on hosepipes, as water supplies are 18% below normal for this time of year. Neil Dewis, head of water at Yorkshire Water, which serves more than 5 million people, said water levels in the region’s reservoirs are now as low as they were in 1995, when 400 tankers of water had to be brought in from other parts of the country. . He said: “There has been very little rain with some short, sharp showers which are not providing the water we need in our reservoirs and rivers.” Opening hours for many locks on the Leeds-Liverpool Canal were reduced in May, with some locked from 4pm. in order to save water, but the lack of recent rainfall has led to more drastic measures. Water use on the canal hit a record high in June due to an increase in boat traffic when a lock near Skipton, North Yorkshire, reopened after repair work. A total of 20,000 liters of water is used every time a boat passes through a lock. The hot dry weather has also led to a warning from emergency services and water safety charities about the dangers of swimming in open water during the heatwave Tributes have now been paid to two 16-year-old boys who drowned in separate incidents just days apart this week. The family of Jamie Lewin, a promising boxer who drowned in a quarry near Wigan on Saturday night, have described their son as “one in a million”. The teenager, from Southport, Lancashire, died after swimming in the water at Dawber Delph, Appley Bridge, which had previously claimed the lives of two other teenagers in 2016 and 1999 and was the subject of a local campaign to restrict access. In a statement released through Lancashire Police, his mother, Steph Lewin, described Jamie as “a promising boxer who loved life and had so much to look forward to”. She said: “He was so loved by everyone.” Jamie’s death came just two days before the drowning of another 16-year-old boy, Alfie McCraw, whose body was recovered from a West Yorkshire canal on Monday. Police received reports that a boy had been in trouble in the South Washlands area of the Aire and Calder Navigation, near Wakefield. Emergency services later recovered the body of Alfie, who was from the area and had just finished his GCSE exams. Subscribe to First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7am. BST Wakefield District Station Cmdr Jimmy Fitt said: “This is a truly tragic incident and our thoughts go out to all of Alfie’s loved ones. “When the warm weather comes, we see a sharp increase in the number of people entering the water – and this can unfortunately prove fatal. “Our advice is not to go into any unsupervised water areas – as water drag, cold water shock and hidden dangers can mean even strong swimmers struggle.” Around 400 people drown each year in the UK, and in July 2021 there were 49 accidental drowning deaths in just two weeks across the country. Lee Hurd, director of charities at the UK’s Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS) said: “I am deeply saddened to say that we have already seen a number of drownings already in recent weeks as temperatures have soared. “It is vital to ensure that everyone understands water safety and takes responsibility to educate their family and friends on how to enjoy water safely to prevent such tragedies.”
