A life belt a week is damaged by vandals in Shrewsbury, a councillor has said
A life belt a week is vandalised along the river in Shrewsbury, says a team working to make the banks of the Severn safer.
Calls for more safety measures near the water's edge came after the body of Daniel Hodgin, 20, from Madeley, Telford, was found in the river at Cressage on New Year's Eve. He went missing after a night out in Shrewsbury and was last seen close to the river in the early hours of Sunday, November 23.
Ben Evans, whose friend 24-year-old Josh Wreford, from Radbrook, drowned in the river in 2010, teamed up with Shrewsbury friends Simon Tildesley and Sharon Stevens to launch online petition Make Our River Safer which has more than 2,000 signatures.
But vandals are putting people at risk by attacking one life belt a week, according to Team Shrewsbury – a partnership including Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council, West Mercia Police, the Safer Shrewsbury Partnership and the Shrewsbury Street Pastors.
Shropshire councillor Claire Wild said: "We have worked with the coroner, the town council, our consultant engineers and other partners on a raft of improvements over a number of years.
"We have closed off access to some areas, provided additional barriers at high risk locations, increased the provision of safety equipment and introduced a comprehensive inspection and monitoring regime.
"Our staff regularly inspect the area to ensure things that aid recovery from the river, such as life belts, are available. The provisions in place are always under review. I would encourage anyone seeing a problem or having concerns to report it to us so we can follow it up.
"For example on average we have to replace a lifebelt every week due to vandalism, whilst this will be picked on our weekly inspection, if you report it we can make sure it is replaced as soon as possible."
