'I am proud of our town and the action taken' - MP shares delight at work to reduce river deaths in Shrewsbury
A county MP said they are "proud" of action taken in Shrewsbury to reduce the number of river deaths.
Speaking during a debate on water safety education, Shrewsbury MP Julia Buckley told Parliament that the River Severn has been the scene of 14 deaths in the past 10 years.
She highlighted the tragic deaths of Toby Jones and Nathan Fleetwood in Shrewsbury in April 2022, and said these "brought the town together".
Mrs Buckley told MPs how a new Water Safety Action Group, funded by West Mercia Police, was set up in the region and brought about the installation of 'safer route' signage along the river, funding for increased solar lighting and rescue lines, and free water safety courses for schools, colleges and clubs.
Furthermore, the Shrewsbury MP added that videos which told the story of what could go wrong were created to be broadcasted in pubs while staff were educated about not to overselling alcohol, and that local businesses also received free training from the RNLI on waterside response schemes.
Mrs Buckley told the House of Commons that the number of water deaths has reduced "slightly", and heaped praise on action taken in recent years.
She said: "Shrewsbury is famous for being looped by the beautiful River Severn. It is a source of beauty, nature, tourism and livelihoods for my town, but also, unfortunately, the scene of 14 deaths in the last 10 years.
"I am really proud of my town - of how we took this issue on and said 'we don’t want this to happen in Shrewsbury'. I am proud to the House that the number of deaths has reduced slightly.
"I pay tribute to our local stakeholders, who responded so quickly and thoroughly to what we considered to be an emergency, and supported our local community. I thank Shropshire Council, Shrewsbury Town Council, our business improvement district, West Mercia police for its funding and support, our street pastors, the fire and rescue service and our local residents' 'Make Our River Safer' Facebook group."
