Photo courtesy of Tracey Franklin

Warnings have been issued about the hidden dangers of going to open water to cool down during the heatwave. 

Surrey Police and the RNLI have advised about the dangers of cold water shock. They have issued a safety message for inland environments with many old quarries, lakes and rivers in the East Surrey and North Sussex area. 

The RNLI says people should only go to areas deemed safe for bathing; 80 percent of drowning incidents happen within 3 metres of safety.  Although the air temperature is warm, water temperature lags behind and is cold enough to induce cold water shock. 

Guy Addington is the Regional Water Safety Lead with the RNLI: