A York resident has called for a review of rescue equipment next to the River Ouse after a young man drowned despite attempts to save him.
Michael Neal lives next to the river and witnessed the tragedy unfold.
It happened shortly after 3am on 5 March. A man, later identified as Evan Geoffrey d’Andilly, entered the water from Ouse Bridge.
The body of the 19-year-old, from Scunthorpe, was recovered by police divers later the same morning.
Michael has a CCTV camera looking out over the Ouse which captured what happened.
Police arrived on King’s Staith next to the river within a couple of minutes of Evan going in the water.
An officer threw a life ring into the water. But despite their best efforts, the ring failed to get near to Evan, who was in the centre of the Ouse
Michael said that was not the fault of the officer. “Trying to throw someone a life ring, unless the person in the water is a few feet from the bank, just isn’t going to work,” he told YorkMix.
“They’re unwieldy and archaic, and not fit for purpose. You could throw a bicycle easier than one of these rings.”
He described the River Ouse in York as “a death trap”. Many people go into shock when they hit the cold water and their body starts to close down, Michael said.
From then it’s out of the person’s control – you only have a few minutes to survive.
That’s why the first responders, whether members of the public or the emergency services, need something lighter and easier to propel to anyone in the water.
Michael says there are more modern rescue aids available, including rugby-ball shaped throws, which are easier to propel long distances.
Better still are inflatable buoys. These have water-soluble fuses which trigger a large float to inflate the moment it hits the water.
Not only are these easier to throw further, they are bigger for someone to grab hold of and are more visible too.
“The man in the water just wants something to hang onto in that first five or ten minutes, which then buys time for people to reach them by boat to affect a proper rescue,” Michael said.
“It’s got to be user friendly – so somebody can open the box and immediately throw it to the person in the water.
“It needs to be simple so anyone can throw it a long way, and effective for the person needing rescue.”
He asked whether North Yorkshire Police might consider including lightweight emergency buoys and throw ropes in vehicles which patrol near the rivers.
Michael described the events of 5 March as “heartbreaking”. Evan’s death was just one of a series of river fatalities in the last few years.
Better buoyancy aids “could make those emergency five or ten minutes much more survivable,” he said.
He also suggested an education campaign to ensure every student was made aware of the dangers of the river when they first came to York.
York has a multi-agency River Safety Group which meets regularly to assess the risks.
In response to Michael’s points, group chair Tony Peel said: “As part of the River Safety Group, City of York Council commissioned national experts the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to review river safety in the city.
“The report said: ‘Generally, the fabric of the infrastructure around the study areas [York’s rivers] is of a good standard.’
“In past reports, RoSPA has recommended additional high-visibility escape ladders and updated life buoys which were installed in 2015, as well as training for riverside premises in how to throw lifelines to people in the water, and river safety campaigns including in schools which we carried out.
“In addition, the Samaritans have installed signs along the Ouse and Foss riverbanks offering support to people needing it.
“The River Safety Group continues to consider safety measures including lifesaving/safety equipment and cautions people against entering the river unless they are trained or supervised.”
North Yorkshire Police didn’t want to comment until after the inquest into Evan’s death. Michael has handed in his CCTV footage to police and hopes that a review of the events of that night could lead to lives being saved in future.