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  "path": "/news/southampton-boy-sparks-urgent-police-search-after-last-being-seen-swimming-in-lake",
  "publishedAt": "2026-06-24T16:21:39.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.gbnews.com",
  "tags": [
    "British teenager dies after swimming off red-flagged beach in Greek holiday hotspot",
    "Boy, 13, dies as he’s pulled from water after ‘getting into difficulty’ in reservoir",
    "Body of boy, 16, pulled from water near Scottish beauty spot as heatwave-related death toll continues to rise",
    "The GB News Editorial Charter"
  ],
  "textContent": "\n\n\n\nA multi-agency search operation is underway after a 15-year-old boy went missing after last being seen swimming in a lake in Southampton.\n\nPolice marine units have joined emergency services in the search for the boy, who was reported missing at 1.35pm today after last being seen swimming at Testwood Lakes, near Totton.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nA Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: “A multi-agency operation is under way following a report that a 15-year-old boy is missing after he was last seen swimming at Testwood Lakes near Totton.\n\n“This was reported to police at 1.35pm on Wednesday 24 June and the area is currently off limits while our search operation is ongoing. Please avoid the area at this time. Please avoid the area at this time.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nTRENDING\n\nStories\n\nVideos\n\nYour Say\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n“We have deployed the marine units to aid in the search, alongside colleagues from NPAS, South Central Ambulance Service, and Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Service.”\n\nThe main gate to the lake area has been closed and people are urged to avoid the area.\n\nThe search comes just week after an Oxford professor revealed to GB News that revealed one in four children cannot swim and child drowning deaths have doubled in England.\n\nProfessor Carl Heneghan, Director of Oxford University's Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine, spoke out after 11 heartbreaking drowning deaths during Britain's record-breaking May heatwave.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nThe urgent care GP said new rules should be introduced, ensuring every child can demonstrate basic water safety skills before leaving primary school.\n\nProf Heneghan carried out research showing the recent tragedies are not isolated incidents but part of a national “swimming crisis”.\n\nHis analysis reveals more than one in four children leave primary school unable to swim 25 metres unaided, despite swimming being a compulsory part of the national curriculum.\n\nThis means hundreds of thousands of youngsters are leaving school without a basic life-saving skill. And the numbers are far higher – 35 per cent – among low-income families.\n\n### LATEST DEVELOPMENTS\n\n\n\n\n  * British teenager dies after swimming off red-flagged beach in Greek holiday hotspot\n  * Boy, 13, dies as he’s pulled from water after ‘getting into difficulty’ in reservoir\n  * Body of boy, 16, pulled from water near Scottish beauty spot as heatwave-related death toll continues to rise\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHis research also shows an estimated 14 million adults cannot swim a 25-metre length. His warning comes after seven child and teenage and four adult drowning tragedies during May's spell of exceptionally warm weather.\n\nWater safety experts have repeatedly warned open water can remain dangerously cold even during hot weather, increasing the risk of cold-water shock.\n\nThe condition can cause involuntary gasping, breathing difficulties and panic, making it difficult even for competent swimmers to stay afloat.\n\nBut Professor Heneghan said the recent tragedies should not simply be viewed as a consequence of unusual weather conditions.\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n###\n\n\n\n\nHe said: \"These should be ‘never events’ which means they should not happen at all, and yet we have dozens every year. The UK has a swimming crisis.\n\n\"Improving swimming and water safety skills from an early age onward would make a huge impact in preventing these tragedies.\n\n\"We urgently need to take steps to improve primary school swimming provision. This is a straightforward public health and safety priority.\n\n\"Swimming is a curriculum requirement and life-saving skill, yet a significant minority of children leave school unable to swim safely. The UK’s geography – extensive coastline, rivers, canals and water recreation – makes water safety particularly important.”\n\n###\n\n\n\n\n**Our Standards: The GB News Editorial Charter**",
  "title": "Boy, 15, sparks urgent police search after last being seen swimming in lake"
}