Jay Walker: Lakeside death 'stark reminder' of water dangers, say fire chiefs

Jay Walker died at Lakeside on Saturday after getting into difficulty in the water as temperatures soared over 30c in Doncaster.

Emergency services spent hours desperately searching for the 20-year-old with police divers drafted in to help with the search.

However, the huge rescue operation ended in tragedy when Mr Walker’s body was pulled from the lake with police, fire, ambulance crews and air ambulance crews all involved.

But within hours of the death, young people were spotted jumping into canals, rivers and lakes across Doncaster with fire chiefs repeating the message to stay out of the water.

A South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service spokesman said: “This latest incident is an absolute tragedy and our thoughts are with the man’s family and friends at this sad time.

“Unfortunately it is another stark reminder about the dangers of open water and we would urge everyone to be extremely careful whilst in and around water during the heatwave.

“Please never jump in – it will be colder than it looks and you have no idea what is underneath.

"Also, we’d ask that people only swim in designated and supervised spots, ideally as part of an organised open water swimming group.”

Police have not said at this stage how Mr Walker ended up in the water.

The tragedy took place on one of the man-made islands situated within the lake, with flowers laid at the spot where Mr Walker died.