New lifebuoy cabinet placed after attacks
A NEW vandal-proof lifebuoy cabinet has been placed in Betws Park, Ammanford, after repeated attacks saw several buoys ripped out and even tied to the bridge and used as a swing over the River Amman.
The cabinet is only the third of its kind in Wales.
Betws Community Council had become increasingly frustrated at the problem in recent years of youths deliberately targeting the buoy, which means there have been periods with no lifesaving measures at the park, next to which the river runs.
The community council was given the buoy by the
Carmarthenshire Water Safety Partnership (CWSP) after the council took ownership of the park from Carmarthenshire Council.
However the repeated vandalism meant another solution was needed.
Last year (CWSP) began discussing a solution and Betws Community Council set about fundraising for a more secure lifebuoy cabinet.
Donations were received from Griffiths Bwtrimawr Funeral Directors in Betws, and the chair of Betws Community
Council Cllr Loreen Lewis donated her annual allowance.
In addition, Betws Community Council and the Dyfed Powys Police and Crime Commissioner donated towards the fund with CWSP paying the remainder.
With the support and engineering of TRJ Engineering Ltd, the new vandal-proof cabinet has been fitted with a special cage and fixings on it.
The cabinet, which is fully bilingual, works by signposting users in a lifethreatening emergency to ring 999, provide the location code on the front of the cabinet, then the emergency call handler gives them access the inside.
This ensures there is always a lifebuoy available and emergency services are immediately alerted to the incident.
Chair of CWSP Adam
acode to throwline
Whitehouse said: “I would like to thank all the councillors, staff and business owners who contributed towards the completion of this project which is very unique to our area and to TRJ for their expertise in fitting this sizeable cabinet. “Ammanford Neighbourhood Policing Team have also been a big support in our work to reduce the instances of fatal drownings in Wales.”
Carmarthenshire Water Safety Partnership works to reduce drowning and increase water safety resources in West Wales and can work with a range of partners to deliver water safety talks, interventions and meetings to deliver its services across west Wales.