Every summer Helen Nugent is reminded of a tragic incident which sadly killed her two young sisters.
It was the day the children broke up for the school holidays in 1961 and sisters Catherine, 11, Veronica, nine, and Patricia, seven, were playing at Denton Dene, in Newcastle. The schoolgirls, who attended St Bede's Catholic Primary School, were playing near the shallow water when Patricia suddenly fell in and became stuck in the mud.
Catherine tried desperately to save her sister but as a result she also got into difficulty. By the time Veronica ran to her home across the road to get help and returned with her mum, Muriel, the two young girls had tragically passed away.
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Helen, from Westerhope, said: "Every time around this year I really start to think about my sisters and what happened. I know it happened a long time ago but when my mam was alive every year she would say 'another six weeks holiday, something always happens' and if you look back over the years, she's right. Every year there's a drowning somewhere in the country.
"I don't think people are aware of how dangerous the water can be."
Although she was only 18 months old when she lost her sisters, Helen, now 63, says the incident has had a huge impact on her life, as well as her family's. And after leaving school, Helen and her daughter even went on to work as lifeguards.
She added: "It's heartbreaking and I don't know how my mam managed after that. I was so young when it happened that I don't even remember my sisters, I just remember the disaster around it. I remember people coming to the house and I remember that for years we could never talk about it.
"My sister who was there when it happened died when she was 59 but she went through hell with it. It traumatised her."
Following the death of Catherine and Patricia, it was reported that Denton Dene was drained. The incident was reported in the national news at the time and many people around the community still remember the tragic event on July 19, 1961.
Helen said she is eager to raise awareness of the dangers around water and wanted to share the story in the hope it will prevent others from losing their life in water. She hopes that parents will speak to their children about water safety and be aware of the dangers, even in shallow water.
The grandmother-of-six said: "I just want people to be aware of the dangers that are around. It's not just at the swimming pools or the beach, even shallow water can be dangerous. There wasn't much water where my sisters drown, apparently their feet got stuck in the mud. It had been raining really badly in the week or so before it happened.
"It's this time of year when I get really anxious and if I got to the beach or anywhere near water I'm looking around and I can't settle because it's always on my mind."
