So after lots of meetings and an enormous amount of work in the background ( a huge thank you to Kevin Burke and the team at RMBC ) we’re delighted to be back swimming again at Thrybergh.
We know there has naturally been lots of talk and rumours so here are the facts which we hope will enable you to make an informed decision on your attendance.
On Wednesday the 5th July a swimmer was bitten by a pike which resulted in him needing 8 stitches in his leg. We have kept in contact and he is healing well and looking forward to returning to swimming with us. This is, by all accounts, an extremely rare occurrence, we can’t find any other incidents of this nature in the UK. These fish are territorial so we have taken the decision to move the course and place additional safety in the area for the time being.
To put things into perspective –
There were 142 incidents and 22 deaths involving cows in the last five years according to the BBC website.
On average over the last 30 years 2 people a year have been killed by lightning, source National Geographic.
You’re even at risk in your bath or shower, according to RoSPA, with over 800 people a year requiring hospital treatment resulting from injuries from sponges and loofahs.
Are we going to do anything to get the fish out? In short – no, it’s their environment, it was a mistake with a multitude of possible reasons behind it which we’ll obviously never know. We’ve taken steps to minimise the risk even further, however, we are swimming in a natural environment with wildlife and these rare incidents do occur. All we can do is put the steps in place to minimise any future clashes.
Everyone that swam last night was given an additional safety briefing and made aware of the incident and I am pleased to say everyone swam and enjoyed a lovely evening.
We look forward to seeing you soon.
Trust me if you’re thinking of turning up with a Dads Army Joke we’ve already heard it.