Recurring concern

Inadequate warnings about location-specific hazards at public waterside locations

First to latest report 4 Mar 2014 — 26 Feb 2026

Reports that mention this concern
21
Times this concern has been raised
23
Stated actions linked to this concern
27

What this concern includes

Includes inadequate signs, pictograms, public advice or other dedicated warnings about location-specific hazards at beaches, rivers, ponds and comparable publicly accessible waterside locations.

What is not included
  • Generic water-safety education not tied to a location-specific hazard
  • Lifeguard, rescue-service or emergency-response capacity where warning controls are not deficient
  • Warnings for roads, workplaces or other non-waterside settings
  • The underlying natural hazard where no deficiency in warning or safety information is identified

Reports and published responses 21 reports

See individual reports that have raised this concern, and the actions taken in response

  1. Norfolk

    AI-generated summary

    RYAN JAMES PETTENGELL · Prevention of Future Deaths report

    This summary was generated using AI from the published report. Please read the original report for the complete account.

    Report summary

    On 16 July 2013, Ryan James Pettengell entered a lake at a disused quarry and drowned while attempting to swim to a nearby island. Concerns included continued public access, absent or damaged swimming-prohibition signage, and no action having been taken six months after safety recommendations.

    Read the report on judiciary.uk

    Source evidence

    How this individual concern was interpreted

    PFD Monitor created a concise, searchable interpretation from the report wording shown below.

    PFD Monitor interpretation

    Lack of signage prohibiting swimming around the lake

    Wider context from the report

    “(5)There is no signage around the lake prohibiting swimming in the area where Mr Pettengell entered the water; ”

    Source location

    RYAN JAMES PETTENGELL · Prevention of Future Deaths report
    Page 2 · concerns

    Open source report

Actions and positions describe what organisations say in published responses. Implementation is not independently verified.

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Data last updated 7 September 2026