IT’S that time of year when our minds actively turn towards high days and holidays and a chance to relax away from work and the everyday.

Breaks and days away are time spent doing what we want and are often much longed for and planned. Unfortunately, they can also be a time of danger as a change of environment can prompt us to drop our guard and forget our usual basic vigilance about keeping safe and out of harm’s way.

For example, Nature can be a beautiful attraction and a matter of wonder but it also has its scary side, as a group of Bolton visitors to Morecambe discovered. They got caught in the Bay’s famous quicksands as the tide was coming in and had to be rescued in what was obviously a horrifying experience.

During the same week, a boy of 13 suffered life-changing injuries after he suffered an electric shock while playing with friends near a railway line in Walsall in the West Midlands, and a girl of six almost drowned after her hair got stuck in the pool filter on holiday in Lanzarote.

Accidents can happen so easily but sometimes, away from the normally ordered lifestyle we lead at home, in school or at work, we can be more susceptible to unseen dangers.

Every year during the summer months, we hear about tragedies that quite often could have been avoided - drownings on hot days in unsuitable areas for swimming, inland and at the seaside or by individuals unprepared for the conditions.

Every child should be able to swim, really, and be made aware of the importance of swimming in safe places. Tiny tots need armbands and swim-rings, and supervision always.

Children on school holidays or enjoying sunny days and lighter evenings need to have the safety message drummed into them, and parents need to know exactly where their children are and who they are with.

Local conditions – at home and abroad – need to be acknowledged and worked within. It’s important to know about local tides and vital to keep an eye on what the sea is doing if you’re walking along shorelines and enjoying any area.

Being on a day out or on holiday must never mean that you relax so much you lose common sense about your environment and what is happening around you. Conditions can change swiftly and dramatically and no-one wants their holiday memories to be tragic ones.