Children are being endangered by their parents’ obssession with smartphones, lifeguards in Germany have warned.

The German Lifeguard Association (DLRG) has linked a series of recent drownings to parents who were too busy with their mobile phones to keep proper watch over the children.

“Not enough parents and grandparents follow the advice: when your children and grandchildren are in the water, put your smartphone away,” Achim Wiese, a spokesman for the DLRG, said.

This summer has seen an alarming spike in drownings in Germany, as adults and children take to the country’s lakes, rivers and beaches to escape the heatwave.

More than 300 people have drowned so far this year, including 20 children under the age of 15 and 40 young people between the ages of 16 and 25.

Recent cases include a seven-year-old boy whose lifeless body was found in a natural open air pool where he had been swimming with siblings in Bavaria.