Warning on perils of ‘tombstoning’
Warnings follow seaside trip tragedy
Young people who jump from bridges and harbour walls into water unsupervised have been warned they are placing their lives in danger.
The Local Government Association (LGA) has reported a summer holiday surge in tombstoning. Figures suggest it has led to two deaths a year over the past decade.
YOUNG PEOPLE who jump from high bridges and harbour walls into water unsupervised have been warned that they are placing their lives in severe danger, council bosses have warned.
The Local Government Association (LGA), which represents dozens of councils and fire and rescue authorities across the country, has reported a summer holiday surge in the activity known as tombstoning. Figures suggest tombstoning has led to two deaths a year over the past decade.
The LGA is calling on the Government to raise awareness of the dangers of jumping into water and of cold water shock by extending a campaign run by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to schools across the country.
At the moment the campaign is targeted at men aged between 18 and 29, but the LGA believes it should be tailored and rolled out to schools to make younger people aware of the risks.
Simon Blackburn, chairman of the LGA’s safer and stronger communities board, said: “Tombstoning is extremely dangerous and grim statistics show that anyone doing it could kill themselves or end up with life-changing or serious injuries.
“Jumping into water may appear enticing during warm weather, but you should never jump off any structure directly into the sea or a river as you can never be sure how deep the water is below.
“Shallow water, unseen objects under the water, hitting something on the way down or simply landing badly can lead to people being killed or paralysed. The message is clear – if you don’t know that the depth of the water is safe or you cannot see what is below the surface, don’t jump.”
The coastguard dealt with more than 200 incidents of tombstoning between 2005 and 2015. Those incidents resulted in 83 injuries and 20 deaths.
Councils are also warning about the danger of cold water shock and of swimming in the sea and open water. The warning comes after five people died during a beach day trip to Camber Sands in East Sussex, and Mr Blackburn urged the Government to act quickly to increase awareness.
Meanwhile, lifeguards will be deployed this bank holiday weekend at the popular beach where five young friends died during a day trip to the coast. The local council accepted an offer from the RNLI to provide a temporary team of up to six lifeguards at Camber Sands, near Rye in East Sussex. The RNLI also said a team will be on hand to give safety information to all beach-goers tomorrow and Monday.
The development came as Sussex Police formally identified the five men who died on Wednesday as inquiries into their deaths passed to the county coroner.
They were Kenugen Saththiyanathan, 18, known as Ken, and his brother Kobikanthan Saththiyanathan, 22, known as Kobi, both of Normandy Way, Erith, London, and their friends Nitharsan Ravi, 22, of Admaston Road, Plumstead, London, Inthushan Sriskantharasa, 23, of Chadwell Road, Grays, Essex, and Gurushanth Srithavarajah, 27, of Elsa Road, Welling, London.
Relatives of some of the men have criticised the lack of lifeguards at Camber and suggested they may have stood a chance of survival if the beach had been manned. Rother District Council said that, despite there being no lifeguards, there were summer patrols to advise people of potential dangers.
You should never jump off any structure directly into the sea or a river Simon Blackburn of the LGA