THE warm weather has arrived, the school holidays just begun, and Burnley has nearly lost a youngster because of the perils of playing near water.

Today parents and children were warned about the dangers and urged: "Let's make sure this doesn't happen again."

The eight-year-old boy was believed to have been playing near the canal in Colne Road with friends when he fell in.

Police, a fire crew from Burnley and paramedics were called to the scene and the boy, of Clive Street, Burnley, was pulled from the water.

He was taken by ambulance to casualty at Burnley General Hospital along with his parents and grandparents and was checked by a doctor before being discharged.

Inspector Dave Croll, of Burnley Police, said by the time police arrived at the scene, the boy had been pulled from the water and said he was lucky not to have been more seriously hurt.

He added: "This youngster was fortunately not badly injured in what appears to have been an accident, however incidents like this should serve as a warning to other youngsters about the dangers of playing near water.

"It can be very tempting during this warm weather for children to mess about near places like canals, but they can be extremely dangerous as the water is often deep and the banks are steep, making it very difficult to climb out."

The call was echoed by Lancashire Fire and Rescue who said youngsters should steer clear of the water, however tempting it might seem.

Spokesman John Taylor said: "The problem seems to be largely related to the weather and if it is hot. people think it will be warm in the water and that isn't the case.

"Temperatures are nearly always low and going in to the water can be quite a shock to the system, even to someone who is young and fit."

Roger Vincent, from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said 44 people drowned in canals including 10 from Lancashire in 2000.

He said: "Inland waters are the most problematical. They claim 300 lives each year.

"Most of the victims are in their teens to 30s who go for swim on a hot day.

"We would discourage people from even paddling in water becuase conditions can change so quickly because of currents, rubbish and weeds. The only places to swim are supervised swimming pools."

In 1999 a firefighter from Holcombe Brook in Bury died while trying to rescue a teenager who had fallen into the canal.

Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service now have a dedicated team of officers specially trained to deal with incidents involving water, the Swift Water Team, although fire chiefs say all firefighters are trained in dealing with incidents on the water.

The team, which covers the whole of the county, is trained in swimming and diving techniques and kitted out with specialist equipment needed to deal with emergencies in canals or rivers.