ONE of the region's largest water companies has issued a warning not to swim in open water, ahead of the bank holiday weekend.

The warning has been issued by United Utilities, who own 180 reservoirs in the North West, following a series of instances over the past few weeks of young people swimming unsupervised in the region's reservoirs.

The risk of danger is shown to rise in warmer weather as more people are drawn to cooling off in reservoirs and stretches of unsupervised water.

Despite tragic loss of life every year, research by the firm has found that over a third of people in the region would brave reservoir waters if the weather was good - with teenagers shown to be the most keen.

Paula Steer, director of Health and Safety and Wellbeing at United Utilities said: “As with most things during our youth, peer pressure plays a massive part. 

"We want that peer pressure to change from urging each other to get into the water, to urging each other to stay safe and not to go in.

"Reservoirs are there as storage so we can supply customers with drinking water.

"This means they are very deep and are extremely cold in places – causing cold shock which takes your breath away and makes it hard to swim.

"There are also hidden currents in the water and underwater machinery, adding further danger to even the strongest of swimmers.

"We absolutely want everyone to visit and enjoy our reservoirs, but please do so from the safety of the banks."