TWO groups have combined to decorate post boxes in Kidderminster with a safety message.

Schools have finished for summer holidays and the RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution) is marking its 200-year anniversary.

So Kidderminster Trefoil Guild and the town’s RNLI group decided it seemed a good time to remind everyone to ‘respect the water’ and ‘float to live’.

The post boxes have old children’s wellies painted yellow as well as knitted ones, life-belts and small fliers from the RNLI about how to keep safe and where to find more information.

The RNLI advice is: “If you found yourself struggling in the water unexpectedly, your instinct would tell you to swim hard.

“But cold water shock could make you gasp uncontrollably.

“Then you could breathe in water and drown.

“Instead, you should ‘float to live’.

“The best way to float is to tilt your head back with your ears submerged.

“Try to relax and breathe normally.

“You can gently move your hands to help you stay afloat if you need to.

“Spread your arms and legs out to improve stability — and it’s OK if your legs sink, we all float differently.

“Once your breathing is under control, call for help or swim to safety.”

For more, see rnli.org.