Police get throw lines after rise in river rescues
County Durham & Darlington Fire & Rescue ServiceDozens of police officers have undergone water safety training and been equipped with new throw lines following an influx of "river-related incidents".
Durham Police said the reports had involved mainly university students going into the water.
Neighbourhood officers from Durham city centre, Crook and Barnard Castle have been training with the County Durham and Darlington Fire and Rescue Service (CDDFRS) since July.
Firefighter Connor McCabe said giving those first on scene confidence, knowledge and equipment until water technicians arrived gave them a better chance of rescuing somebody from the water.
They aim to have every frontline officer in the force trained by 2027.
Community safety coordinator at Durham Police Ashleigh White said since the start of the summer, the force had seen an "increase in river-related incidents where predominantly university students have been voluntarily going into the river".
McCabe said there were rivers and weirs in the region that "look all calm at the top" but danger lay underneath.
The pair identified a "gap in knowledge" among the officers and organised training which included how to use throw lines and identifying where the person entered the water.
McCabe said it was about "understanding the criteria that each emergency service requires when they arrive on scene".
"We are all the 999 services, we need to help each other out."
They also found the throw lines at Durham Police stations were in poor condition, White said.
Together Durham University, City of Durham Parish Council and the police and crime commissioner for Durham and Darlington gave £700 for 15 lines to be placed in patrol cars and at the station.
