'I got into open water and realised I couldn't swim'

"I thought I could swim... but when you actually get into the open water it's completely different."

John Warriner was sure he could swim after years of enjoying the pool on holiday.

But when he took a paddleboard out to sea he got into difficulty and had to be rescued. The 65-year-old, from Carterton, Oxfordshire, is now one of many swimmers taking lessons later in life.

"I inevitably fell off the board and couldn't get back on," he recalls. "[I was] farther away from the shore than I wanted to be, panicked, and had to be rescued."

John says he never expected to struggle.

"You think you're swimming but you're actually not," he says.

"It was all very embarrassing and made me realise that I need to learn to swim stronger."

He started taking adult lessons at Carterton Leisure Centre about a year ago, attending twice a week.

"It's not easy - I'm 65 and it's been quite difficult but I feel much more confident now," he explains.

"Water safety is everything. Being offshore or even slightly out of your depth, if you can't be safe then bad things can happen.

"I'm going away again in a few weeks' time and I don't expect anything untoward to happen this time."

Ruth Perera, from nearby Black Bourton, is learning to swim for the first time at the age of 43.

"Today, for the first time, I was swimming by myself and it was amazing," she says.

She is hoping to enjoy the water with her husband and daughter, but is keen to stay safe and learn the "right techniques".

Gillian Muller, 71, from Carterton, adds: "You just need to watch the television to see how many people have got into trouble while they've been swimming."

She wants adult swimming lessons to provide more opportunities with her family.

"I'm hoping I can get in the pool or even in the sea with my grandchildren," she explains.

"I would say to anybody, it doesn't matter how old they are. If they do consider going into open water, they should know how to swim."

National Water Safety Forum figures show there are about 600 water-related deaths in the UK every year.

There have been at least 29 deaths in open water across the UK since the spell of record-breaking hot weather began in May.

In Oxfordshire, 14-year-old Baltazar L'Quy died after getting into difficulties in the River Thames in May.

Deb Forder, safety manager for Oxfordshire County Council's Fire and Rescue Service, is urging people to be cautious.

"Don't go into water alone, and use lifeguarded spaces like our open water pools," she says.

She also stresses the dangers of cold water: "No matter how good a swimmer you think you are, cold water reflex shock will affect you."

Jo Jones, an Oxfordshire-based open water swimming instructor, also warned conditions in rivers, lakes and the sea can change quickly.

There is "always an element of risk", she says. "The water is always changing. It's unpredictable."

The RNLI has urged people to follow its Phone, Throw, Float and Float to Live guidance.