'Please stay out of the water' plea following man's death at Bawsey park
The operators of a West Norfolk beauty spot where a man died yesterday have renewed their plea for visitors not to enter its waters.
Police confirmed earlier this morning that a 20-year-old man, who is being named on social media as Radek Gina, from Wisbech, was pronounced dead at the Bawsey Country Park on Wednesday afternoon after getting into difficulties in the water.
The man's death is the second at the site in less than a year and officials there say they need visitors' help to ensure there are no further tragedies.
In a statement, the park said: "The owners and staff of Bawsey Country Park would like to offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the man who tragically lost his life at the park yesterday.
"We would also like to express our thanks and praise for all the emergency services who attended yesterday and worked tirelessly to deal with such an awful situation.
"Since we took on the park we have worked closely with the relevant authorities including the Police and the Fire Brigade in order to improve the safety of the park.
"The park rules, including the direction to stay out of the water, are clear all over the park, on our website and on our social media. We have greatly increased the safety signage around the park and ensured the signs are pictorial so that they are clear for visitors of all nationalities.
"We regularly update our social media with educational content to educate visitors as to the dangers of going into the water and why they should not do so.
"With the approval of the emergency services, we have recently installed six emergency throwlines and ID boards around the lakes.
"Our warden, park staff and catering vendors have all recently received basic training with Norfolk Fire and Rescue services.
"Our warden patrols the site daily and advises people to stay out of the water, and all our refreshment vendors are supplied with throw ropes in case of an emergency. We have created and improved access routes within the park for emergency vehicles."
The statement concluded: "The loss of this young man’s life is yet another tragedy.
"We remain committed to improving the park and promoting its safe usage so that it can remain a beautiful natural site for local people to use safely and enjoy for many years to come, but we need our visitors to help us.
"We reiterate our plea for visitors to abide by the park rules and PLEASE STAY OUT OF THE WATER so that no future tragedies occur."
