People were seen jumping into Queens Dock in Liverpool on a hot day as warning signs in the area urged them to stay out of the water. The scene came as Liverpool was expected to reach 26C, with Britain on the fourth day of its heatwave.
Queens Dock has long been a hotspot for swimmers when the weather turns warm, but the latest images showed the old pull of open water winning out over the signs. The dock is owned by the Canal and River Trust, which runs a summer water safety campaign each year to highlight the risks of jumping into open water.
Mark Thomas, speaking as Merseyside Fire and Rescue Service dealt with several incidents in the water over the last few days, said the warning could not be clearer. “It’s not just Queens Dock where we see challenges when there’s a bit of heat, particularly to the excess we have had. Unfortunately we’re hearing news today of four young people who have lost their lives nationally and it really highlights the dangers of going into water when we don’t fully appreciate the risks,” he said.
He said the service had increased its focus on waterfront areas because of antisocial behaviour and unauthorised swimming, and urged people to use authorised spots instead. “Any firefighter will tell you that when we get weather like this, we know we are going to be deployed to help someone in difficulty in the water. We’ve had several incidents over the course of the last few days,” Thomas said.
The warning came after a stretch of intense early-summer heat that has already changed behaviour across the country. On May 26, the hottest May day ever was broken when temperatures reached 35C at Heathrow and Kew Gardens in London, while Bank Holiday Monday brought crowds to the beaches at Ainsdale, Crosby and Formby and caused traffic chaos.
Thomas said the danger is often underestimated because the air feels warm, even when the water does not. “We find a lot of young people think it’s OK to jump into a dock, dam or canal, but these environments are very dangerous. You dont know what’s under the water, you don’t know the temperature of the water. They can often still be very cold despite the high temperatures that the air is showing,” he said.
That cold-water risk is what makes these summer incidents so dangerous. “When you go into water, the body has an almost involuntary reaction called cold water shock. Muscles tighten up, you have a sharp intake of breath, and you can imagine the challenge that brings,” Thomas said. With lifeguards marking safe places to swim on beaches and warnings still posted around Queens Dock, the message from rescuers is not about spoiling the weather — it is about making sure a hot day does not end in a tragedy that was easy to avoid.
