A WORCESTERSHIRE businessman has teamed up with swimming professional Paul Stocks to launch a DVD on how parents can teach their children to swim.

Business consultant David Gould, from Stourport-upon- Severn, who has been helping new businesses for more than 30 years, joined up with Mr Stocks after contacting him through his website. He viewed Mr Stocks's water safety DVD online and decided to help him launch it to parents across the country.

With drowning the third most common cause of accidental death among children under 16 in the UK, the DVD - called Little Dolphins - aims to reduce the death rate of children by drowning, which currently claims 50 young lives a year. Independent figures from ROSPA put this figure even higher.

The specialist DVD is the brain child of Mr Stocks, who runs his own swimming school in Ashington, Northumberland. With 18 years experience teaching both adults and children to swim, he came up with the idea to produce the DVD to tackle the problem of thousands of children leaving school unable to swim.

Mr Stocks said: "Water is fascinating to children of all ages and many accidents occur each year due to the simple fact that children cannot swim. Competence and confidence in and around water are paramount to a child's safety and something that all parents should encourage."

The hour-long DVD is suitable for children from birth to six years. It costs £24.47.

For more details visit www. littledolphinswim.co.uk or call Mr Stocks on 01670 737 770.