Bawsey Country Park has pleaded with visitors to stay out of the water after a 20-year-old man drowned there on Wednesday.

The man, named by friends as Radek Gina from Wisbech, drowned in the small lake at the west Norfolk park.

20-year-old-man-drowns-at-Bawsey-Pits

It's the fourth such tragedy in less than 10 years at Bawsey.

Kristers Bednarskis, 22, died after getting into difficulty on August 8 last year.

And Umar Balogun, 16, and Ryan Pettengell, 41, drowned on the same afternoon in July 2013.

Eastern Daily Press: Radek Gina, 20, has been named as the 20-year-old who drowned at Bawsey Pits on Wednesday, June 16.Radek Gina, 20, has been named as the 20-year-old who drowned at Bawsey Pits on Wednesday, June 16. (Image: Facebook)

On Thursday, the owners and staff at Bawsey Country Park issued a statement in which they urged visitors to use its facilities safely.

Norfolk Police is investigating the circumstances surrounding Mr Gina's death.

Bawsey Country Park's full statement

The owners and staff of Bawsey Country Park would like to offer their sincere condolences to the family and friends of the man who tragically lost his life at the park yesterday.

We would also like to express our thanks and praise for all the emergency services who attended yesterday and worked tirelessly to deal with such an awful situation.

Since we took on the park we have worked closely with the relevant authorities including the Police and the Fire Brigade in order to improve the safety of the park. The park rules, including the direction to stay out of the water, are clear all over the park, on our website and on our social media.

We have greatly increased the safety signage around the park and ensured the signs are pictorial so that they are clear for visitors of all nationalities. We regularly update our social media with educational content to educate visitors as to the dangers of going into the water and why they should not do so.

With the approval of the emergency services, we have recently installed six emergency throwlines and ID boards around the lakes. Our warden, park staff and catering vendors have all recently received basic training with Norfolk Fire and Rescue services.

Our warden patrols the site daily and advises people to stay out of the water, and all our refreshment vendors are supplied with throw ropes in case of an emergency. We have created and improved access routes within the park for emergency vehicles.

The loss of this young man’s life is yet another tragedy. We remain committed to improving the park and promoting its safe usage so that it can remain a beautiful natural site for local people to use safely and enjoy for many years to come, but we need our visitors to help us.

We reiterate our plea for visitors to abide by the park rules and PLEASE STAY OUT OF THE WATER so that no future tragedies occur.