Shrewsbury river barriers safety improved after tragedy
Safety barriers by the River Severn in Shrewsbury have been improved – as the inquest of a young man whose body was found in the water was today being held.
Shropshire Council carried out the work after more than 3,000 people signed a petition calling for improvements to be made.
It has included paths being widened and extra railings being put in along the water's edge.
The work comes after the death of 20-year-old Daniel Hodgin, of Madeley in Telford, whose body was found in the river at Cressage 10 miles south of Shrewsbury on New Year's Eve. He had not been seen since a night out in Shrewsbury on November 23.
An inquest into Mr Hodgin's death was being conducted today by Shropshire's coroner Mr John Ellery.
Campaigners today said the changes had not gone far enough.
A spokesman for Shropshire Council said: "We have inspected the towpath with the police and Shrewsbury Town Council. As part of this we reviewed the barriers, particularly where there are paths and lanes coming to join the towpath and where there are changes to the line of the path.
"New lengths of railing have now been put in where it was felt necessary."
The council said a number of other measures have been carried out, including clearing vegetation from around lighting columns.
Despite the work, River Severn safety campaigner Simon Tildesley has again warned more people could die because "not enough has been done".
Mr Tildesley, who runs the Make Our River Safer Campaign in Shrewsbury, says the town risks a repeat of the tragic incident which claimed the life of Mr Hodgin.
He said: "It feels like they are not taking people's safety seriously. Unless they do something, there is always the risk that this could happen again.
"People can always have an accident but we need to do everything we can to make it as safe as possible and try to prevent it ever happening again."
