Number of people known to have died in open water reaches 11

At least 11 people are now known to have died in open water during the record-breaking UK heatwave.

It comes after two further deaths were confirmed on Thursday.

Thames Valley Police said that a 14-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty in the River Thames at Donnington Bridge on Wednesday.

Around the same time, the body of another teenage boy was recovered from a pond in Swanscombe, Kent.

It comes as a string of youngsters died in water-related incidents over the past few days as the UK saw record-breaking temperatures for May in parts of the country.

One of them was 12-year-old Junior Slater, who died while swimming with friends in the River Ribble at Ribchester on Tuesday.

Explainer: What is cold water shock?

The first reported incident involved Declan Sawyer, 15, whose body was recovered after he got into difficulty after entering Swanholme Lakes in Lincoln on Sunday.

On Monday, a 13-year-old boy died after getting into difficulty at Leadbeater Dam in West Yorkshire, while the body of a teenage girl was recovered on the same day at Kingsbury Water Park in Warwickshire.

The following day, the body of a teenager had been recovered from the water at Rother Valley Country Park, Rotherham, South Yorkshire, in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

A body was also found by rescuers looking for a teenage boy who was last seen swimming at Hawley Lake on the Hampshire-Surrey border on Tuesday afternoon.

Then on Wednesday, Cheshire Police said the body of a 17-year-old boy was found after he went missing in Pickmere Lake in Northwich.

On Sunday, a 72-year-old woman died after being pulled from the water at West Angle Bay beach in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Read more from Sky News:
Students 'misled' over uni loans
Fertility rate falls to record low

The following day, a man in his 60s died of cardiac arrest after entering the sea at Tregirls Beach in Padstow, Cornwall, to help two family members who were in difficulty, police said.

In Ireland, another teenager died while swimming in the sea at a beach in County Dublin on Sunday.

The RNLI warned of the "very real risk" of swimming in open water during the heatwave, with Steve Instance, the water safety lead for the charity, insisting it remains "very much winter temperatures" in UK waters.

(c) Sky News 2026: Number of people known to have died in open water reaches 11