Calls for urgent safety measures after children rescued from river

Urgent safety measures should be put in place near the River Avon following three recent near misses involving children playing in the river in Melksham, says the Adventure Centre.

The centre, based adjacent to the river in the King George V Park, wants safety signs and buoys installed to alert people to the risks and provide assistance if anyone gets into danger, following recent incidents where members had to help rescue children from the river.

They are also calling for a gate to be fitted in front of a slipway that leads to a 12ft drop and runs close to the slide near the children’s play park.

“We are seeing lots of children playing in and around the river,” said Kevin Bowerbank, Chairman of the Adventure Centre, which hosts the Wiltshire Youth Canoe Club among other activities.

“There is a very fine line; you’re talking seconds between struggling to swim and drowning.

“There are no signs to warn that it’s deep water, and no rescue buoys or anything similar around to help if you get into danger. If someone did get into trouble and others were nearby, what would they do?”

With recent temperatures reaching 30 degrees, the club wants to remind people to be safe when using the river.

“We’re not saying you can’t go swimming or do water activities, but you need to be careful,” said Kevin.

Near misses

Recently, the club has had to help save young children from the river after they got into difficulty.

“They didn’t realise that where they were playing in front of the landing stage, the initial part is waist height, but then it drops vertically to an 18ft depth, literally straight down off a ledge,” said Kevin. “We also had to help two boys who got into trouble when trying to retrieve their ball. There was a breeze that day, and the football was being blown along; the boys were struggling to get back.”

Slipway

The club is also calling for a gate to be installed in front of a slipway to prevent children running into the river after playing on the park’s slide.

“The youngsters run to see what’s in the river, and the end of the slipway drops 12ft deep,” said Kevin. “We’re talking very young children who have just slipped out of their parents’ sight for a moment, and you can’t see them down there.

“Safety is everybody’s responsibility because no one can just assume it’s someone else’s.”

To address these safety concerns, the club is organising a meeting with the Environment Agency, the Canal Trust, Melksham Town Council and the canoe club itself to discuss an action plan going forward.