It has been five years since Sam Haycock tragically drowned in a reservoir, and his grieving parents are pleading with other families to learn from their loss. Simon and Gaynor Haycock have dedicated themselves to educating young people about the dangers of open water after their 16-year-old son died on May 28, 2021.
Parents' urgent plea
Simon and Gaynor Haycock said: "Parents, please, please be aware! You might not always be aware of where your children are, but please make them aware of the dangers of open water - the message is: don't let it be you!"
Sam had been celebrating the end of term with friends when he went to Ulley Reservoir in Rotherham. After playing rock, paper, scissors, he jumped from a bridge into the water and drowned.
A mission born from tragedy
Simon, 56, from Sheffield, told the Mirror: "Never in a million years would that have entered my head, that he'd have done anything like that." Gaynor, 60, added: "He's never been in that area before, it's so out of character but they all decided to leave school and go out."
The couple soon realised how common such tragedies are. Simon said: "A few weeks after we lost Sam, another young man did exactly the same thing off exactly the same bridge. It opened up a lot, why are they doing this off this bridge? So our first thing was out of frustration to campaign to make that bridge safe."
Now, Simon and Gaynor visit schools and colleges, and volunteer with fire brigades, aiming to save just one life. Simon speaks about consequences and ripple effects: "I talk about how Sam's incident affected us as a family and everybody associated with Sam, and the hurt that it causes. Sam was one of hundreds of people that drowned that year - that's a lot of ripples and their lives that it touches. It's frightening for what is a completely preventable thing."
Education is key
Simon added: "Sam's favourite saying was: 'It won't happen to me.' But they're not invincible, and that's what they need to know. Hopefully by telling Sam's story, they realise it can happen to them. I want to make it known to young people that you don't want to be in Sam's position."
He emphasised that swimming ability is irrelevant in cold open water: "When it comes to cold water and open water, it's actually irrelevant whether you can swim or not. People underestimate these places - the amount of debris and rubbish that are thrown into there like push bikes, shopping trolleys, and things like that that are underneath the surface that you can't see."
The family founded Sam's Army's Mission 1 Life and are currently producing a water safety video to reach thousands. Simon said: "When we hear about the recent events and people losing their life in our water, it cuts deep. It really does, because you feel like I ain't got to them and I ain't got that message across to them, and it hurts."
