to wear lifejackets as fewer than 2.5% of shore anglers wear them when fishing according to research carried out by the Maritime & Coastguard Agency. The agency is advising all anglers, whether they practice their sport from the sea, on rocks or shore, to carry and wear a lifejacket when near the sea.

Richard Jackson, Evidence Coordinator of the Research & Planning Team at the Agency said: “Deaths from angling dropped to five last year from 11 in 2007. In gaining those figures, our research showed some gaps in individuals awareness of how vital a lifejacket can be in those few short seconds when, through a slip or accident, an angler can find themselves in the sea.

“Cold shock and hypothermia are the real killers, and if you are not wearing a lifejacket when you go into the water the chances of your survival are diminished. When things go wrong at sea there’s seldom, if ever, time to get out a lifejacket and put it on properly.”

For facts and figures on lifejackets please visit www.mcga.gov.uk/c4mca/lifejackets.

For advice on lifejacket sizes and uses visit http://www.nationalwatersafety.org.u…uoyancy_afloat.

For general advice and information on lifejackets and how to fit and maintain them, visit www.rnli.org.uk and go to the lifejacket campaign in the sea safety section.

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