"UNFORTUNATELY, some young man dies swimming in the River Severn every summer," observes Worcestershire coroner, Victor Round (Evening News, July 30).

He might have added that in almost every instance over the years, alcohol has been a factor.

Those of us who learnt to swim the river in the days when it was officially encouraged were well aware of this. We also deplored diving or jumping into dark waters.

One never knew what lay beneath the surface. We were also aware that the skill involved in coping with currents could not be acquired in the static water of a swimming pool.

Swimming upstream, it was often difficult to make headway and a deceptively near objective could be unreachable. The pool-trained swimmer was unaware of this and instinctively made every effort to reach what seemed a safety spot. Exhaustion rapidly occurs and that is when drowning takes place."

When difficulty arises never try to fight against or across a current," was the message we put out to all river users. It was sound practical advice that nowadays seems to have been forgotten

Today, the tendency is for people to learn to swim in static pools and they are discouraged from experiencing the environment in which survival and rescue techniques are acquired. That could lead to more, not fewer river deaths.

JOHN HINTON, Worcester.