Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade urging people to be careful when open water swimming
A North East voluntary coastal rescue service is urging people to check the conditions before entering the water when going open water swimming.
They say cold water is defined as anything under 15 degrees, which is our coastline all year round.
Heather Peacock is part of the water safety team at the Tynemouth Volunteer Life Brigade (TVLB) and says cold water shock can be very dangerous.
She said: "Definitely don't go alone. Don't go in the dark. Make sure that you understand the conditions that you're going into. When you get to the beach, have a look around. Can you see rip currents? How big are the waves? What are they doing? How far up the beach are they coming?
"Obviously with the water being so cold at this time of year, just don't go in for too long. You don't want to end up getting that kind of after drop effect where you get really cold after you've come out the water. We want to kind of minimize any risk of hypothermia. Take some nice warm clothes, a nice warm drink and don't stay in too long.
"If you are entering the water and you are going for a dip, do it slowly, go in slowly, don't run into the water, or rush in and do a big jump and dive."
They are urging people to know their limits and not to stay in for too long, especially at this time of year.
Heather continued to say: "If someone gets accidentally swept into the water, particularly in these cold temperatures. If you look at somewhere, a website like the RLSS, the Royal Life Saving Society, cold water is defined as anything under 15 degrees, and that really is our coastline all year round.
"That can happen at any time of the year, but particularly at this time of year, if you do accidentally enter the water, you'll have that involuntary kind of gasping situation where you rapidly inhale. If you're in the water, that can lead to you inhaling water into your lungs."