By Jake Lanning, West Bay Coastguard Rescue Team

AS THE festive period rapidly approaches, everyone is getting into the holiday spirit.

The town’s beautiful decorations are up, seasonal products dominate the shop fronts and it’s hard not to give in to temptation regarding those mince pies.

As a coastguard rescue team, we hope that everyone has an enjoyable and safe holiday period, but this week we wanted to support the ‘Don’t Drink and Drown’ initiative which is a national campaign being run by the Royal Life Saving Society (RLSS).

The publicity material contains some sombre statistics. Its findings show that more than a quarter of all adult drownings involved alcohol, with 366 accidental drownings taking place between 2012-2016. That’s 73 per year!

One of those accidental drownings was right here in Bridport.

Back in December 2013, a local resident was simply walking home after a night out in a pub, but the alarm was raised when he did not return. West Bay Coastguard joined other emergency services in the search, but tragically he was found after three days of searching having fallen into the River Brit. His death was ruled as an accident and our thoughts remain with his family and friends.

We want you to have a fantastic holiday period but please keep yourself, your friends and family safe and don’t take any unnecessary risks.

Don’t enter the water if you have been drinking, as your judgment will be impaired and you will be more likely to make mistakes, which, in water, could be life-threatening. Look out for each other and, after a night out, do not take shortcuts or walk home near water.

Please make sure your friends get home safely and don’t let anyone walk alone.

For more information on the RLSS and its ‘Don’t Drink & Drown’ campaign, visit: rlss.org.uk/about-dont-drink-and-drown