Councillor's warning after Ponden Reservoir death, Haworth

Police revealed yesterday morning they discovered the body of a 27-year-old man, from Blackpool, in a reservoir just before 10pm last night, after around four hours of searching.

West Yorkshire Police was called to Ponden Reservoir on Scar Top Road, near Haworth, by the ambulance service at 5.50pm on Tuesday.

A man was reportedly seen getting into difficulty while swimming in water there, according to a spokesperson for the force.

Police were continuing to investigate throughout yesterday, but the man's death is not being treated as suspicious.

The spokesperson said on Wednesday afternoon: "Enquiries are still ongoing into the circumstances however we can confirm the death is being treated as non-suspicious."

Temperatures have soared across the district over the past week or so and the Mercury hit 20 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to the Met Office.

Councillor Russell Brown (Worth Valley, Con) said: "Clearly it's a tragedy, apparently the person wasn't familiar with the district.

"If it's a hot, sweaty day, people are inclined to take a dip but there's just no understanding that bodies of water like this remain cold by the very nature of how they're designed."

The councillor added that people "don't realise how dangerous" reservoirs are.

He explained the sides of the structure goes to great depths, meaning the body of water maintains a low temperature which our bodies struggle to deal with, even for those who consider themselves as strong swimmers.

Councillor Brown added: "They are very steep sided and unfortunately people can get in there and it can effect their bodies and ability to cope with these things.

"Unfortunately, even strong swimmers can be overcome.

"There are warning signs all over."

The T&A visited the reservoir on Wednesday and saw the different warning signs that are in place around the reservoir.

At one spot, on a metal gate, there is a sign declaring that "bathing prohibited", accompanied by a symbol denoting this.

There is also a second, more detailed sign - which is Yorkshire Water branded - that states "cold water kills", with the same "bathing is prohibited" message as the other sign.

It explains the specific dangers of swimming in the reservoir just below.

The sign states: "The temperature of the water in Winter and Summer varies very little and is always below 12 degrees Celsius.

"Immersion in water at this low temperature can cause: hyperventilation, increase blood pressure, breathing difficulties, loss of co-ordination, heart attacks."

The sign also warns about undercurrents and when there is ice covering the reservoir.

It explains ignoring the advice could cause others to risk their lives to save a swimmer too.

An exact copy of this sign, another "bathing prohibited" warning and a warning symbol stating "danger deep water" are situated at a separate location near the reservoir.

Yorkshire Water declined to comment specifically in this instance.

Councillor Brown said: "We would like people to really take on board how dangerous these things are and the warning signs are there for a reason."

The report yesterday provoked a huge emergency response, with police, ambulance, four crews from separate fire stations - including two specialist water teams - the National Police Air Service (NPAS) and specialist police drivers.

The fire crews came from Keighley and Illingworth, with the two specialist water teams coming from each of Bingley and Rastrick.

A spokesperson for Keighley Fire Station said firefighters conducted a search in the water.

It comes after a youngster drowned in the River Calder, at Huntingdon Road, Brighouse, on June 1.

Tomi Obi Solomon, 13, who was a Bradford City academy player and originally born in Leiden in the Netherlands, was with friends when they started to jump into the river from the bridge, Bradford Coroners' Court heard on June 9.

Coroners' officer Christopher Dalby said Tomi, also jumped from the bridge, but failed to resurface.