THIS week saw a lifeguard who jumped into a lake to save two drowning brothers receive an award commemorating his efforts.

Yanek Kowal, a 65 year-old, was able to save one of the brothers, but not the other.

Mr Kowal is without a doubt a hero, but the incident raises important questions about what we can do to solve the issue of accidental death by drowning.

As Robert Gofton, CEO of the Royal Live Saving Society said: "Warning signs and fences are fine, but people still see them as an opportunity rather than a deterrent."

Even though that incident happened at Lake Ullswater in the Lake District, we have seen more than our fair share of tragic and preventable deaths from accidental drowning over the years.

From the tragic deaths of Tom Jones and Alessandro Frumenzi in Worcester to Jayden Clarke at Shavers End Quarry, with many more incidents over the years, Worcester and the surrounding area is at the forefront of the fight against accidental drowning.

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There is only so much the police and emergency services can do. Even with warning signs and fences, people will still decide to go for a swim from time to time.

Just last month, the Malvern Hills Trust reported that four people had been arrested and 32 more moved on after going over the barriers at Gullet Quarry.

So what is the solution? Every time we publish a story about these matters there are predictable comments from those who either don't see it as a problem, saying "In my day we used to swim where we liked and we were fine" and those who say "Who cares? If they're stupid enough to do it then it is their fault."

Is that the kind of society we want to be? Would these people in the comments be saying the same thing if it were their son or daughter or friend who drowned?

READ MORE: Parents of Tom Jones say "no more drowning deaths"

More awareness needs to be raised by the police and emergency services to really drum home the importance of being safe around water.

Even confident swimmers can get into trouble in relatively calm waters, so more should be done to educate people as early as possible to make the right call.

Ultimately, it often requires tragedy for people to sit up and take notice of just how dangerous our waterways can be.