WHAT were they thinking? The four people caught swimming in the river Severn in Worcester yesterday, just yards from where 17-year-old Tony Ballard lost his life on Monday, need their heads testing.

Police had to order the two men and two women out of the water. Officers are now considering prosecuting the four using local by-laws.

Good. These people – and others who have been spotted swimming further downstream since Monday – need a lesson to deter them from taking such risks.

We would have thought Monday’s terrible events would have been enough to keep anyone away from the water.

The four dealt with by police yesterday were not some daft bunch of kids. The oldest of the group is believed to be 30. You would think someone of that age would have more sense.

We said yesterday how we understood how teenagers could ignore danger because that is what teenagers are like. We cannot understand how anyone in their thirties can do the same, particularly when they were more than aware of Monday’s tragedy.

These fools were putting their own lives in danger and, potentially, those of anyone who may have been called upon to attempt their rescue if they got into trouble.

We hope they and anyone else tempted to cool off in the Severn think about what could have happened.

They should think, also, of the awful effect Tony Ballard’s death is having on his family and friends and imagine what a similar tragedy would do to their nearest and dearest. That is what they were risking.