Ladders will be installed along the River Severn in Shrewsbury to help people get themselves out of trouble if they fall in.

The plan is one of a range of measures which will be introduced after Coroner John Ellery raised concerns following the deaths of several young people who had fallen in the river after nights out.

Mr Ellery will also visit the area with police chief inspector Martin Whitelegg and council officials this month to see for himself the work that has been carried out.

A new taskforce set up to help promote and improve safety along the river met for the first time last month.

It includes the police, fire and ambulance services, Shropshire Council and the Environment Agency.

Officials will gather information about incidents along the river in a bid to identify any “hotspot” or “hot premises” which should be targeted.

Tim Sneddon, head of environmental maintenance at Shropshire Council, said it had carried out a fact-finding mission in York, which has a good reputation for river safety measures.

He said: “One of the ideas we did bring back was to set up a River Severn Safety Group, which will meet to specifically consider safety.

“We’ve also done many physical things to increase safety along the riverside such as installing new lifebuoys, and we’re now looking at longer-term measures.

“These include some improvements to existing barriers, some limited additional new safety barriers and provision of ladders to assist getting out of the water should someone fall in.

“I have now had a productive meeting with the Coroner and chief inspector and am due to take a walk down the tow path with them later this month to assess the work that has been carried out so far and what else we might be doing.”

Initially the group, which will meet every three months, will look at the outstanding long-term actions highlighted for consideration in the River Severn risk assessment report that was recently prepared for Shropshire Council.

It will also concentrate on developing campaigns highlighting dangers of the river, particularly for those who have been drinking and are on their own.

Mr Ellery pledged to raise the issue of river safety with Shropshire Council in October after the inquest of 18-year-old Hayden Reynolds- Evans, who died in the River Severn on March 13 last year.

Mr Reynolds-Evans’s death was one of nine accidental deaths in the River Severn in Shrewsbury over the previous six years, according to figures read out at the inquest by Mr Ellery.

He revealed there had been 94 cases of people falling into the water during that time. Mr Ellery raised the issue again after the inquest of Joshua Wreford, whose body was found in the river two days after a night out on August 11 last year.