Death by Inebriated Drowning

[Roger t' Bodger]

Local and popular student Phil was eventually found dead in the water close by where he walked down from Mill Lane to the towpath on the Mile Straight in the Leicester, a couple of days ago. The Facebook Site created to find Phil (missing 3 weeks) has now mutated into a scheme to make the towpath safer for pedestrians as a legacy of his unfortunate death. It should be on the local news either tonight or tomorrow on the BBC East Midland News. CCTV images of him show him staggering about after a number of bevies in the Polar Bear. I suggest that if to illuminate the Mile Straight will this be enough to prevent further inebriated demises? Who will pay? Should there be a public subscription - say £100 per head from the Facebook groups membership? Discuss.

[Grace and Favour]

Local and popular student Phil was eventually found dead in the water close by where he walked down from Mill Lane to the towpath on the Mile Straight in the Leicester, a couple of days ago. The Facebook Site created to find Phil (missing 3 weeks) has now mutated into a scheme to make the towpath safer for pedestrians as a legacy of his unfortunate death. It should be on the local news either tonight or tomorrow on the BBC East Midland News. CCTV images of him show him staggering about after a number of bevies in the Polar Bear. I suggest that if to illuminate the Mile Straight will this be enough to prevent further inebriated demises? Who will pay? Should there be a public subscription - say £100 per head from the Facebook groups membership? Discuss.

 

All pedestrians ( particularly cyclists and dog-walkers) whom wish to use the towpath must first take a breath-test.

All who fail should be removed to Yarl's Wood centre (with their children for a period of at least a fortnight

The Landlord of The Polar Bear hostelry will be fined £250 for each such incident

[Tim F]

All pedestrians ( particularly cyclists and dog-walkers) whom wish to use the towpath must first take a breath-test.

All who fail should be removed to Yarl's Wood centre (with their children for a period of at least a fortnight

The Landlord of The Polar Bear hostelry will be fined £250 for each such incident

Breath test! Rules out 90% of boaters.

[Graham Davis]

Leicester will end up with something like those stupid barriers in Manchester!!

[Tim F]

Leicester will end up with something like those stupid barriers in Manchester!!

elf and safety,dont you just love it

[Amduck]

There's apparently a similar Facebook call to fence off the River Severn in Shrewsbury. God help us all - if all these knee-jerk merchants get their way, we won't be able to get anywhere near any running water "for our own protection"

[DHutch]

Drunk people, do silly things, sadly sometimes from this they die.

 

If its a popular short cut about an email sent out to all the first year students (lord knows, we get enough at loughborough) once a year reminding them falling into water when drunk is as bad an idea as getting his by a bus so consider walking in groups or down lite pavments etc?

 

Im not trying to be harsh, but some times, people end up dead. I dont think you will get £100 from 10% of the people in the facebook group never mind all.

 

 

Daniel

[Roger t' Bodger]

elf and safety,dont you just love it

 

 

My daughter thought that barriers were a good thing until I explained to her that a inedriated person would use these until there was a gap (I had explained that legitinate boaters needed them to be able to moor and would need to be only 10 foot apart) and after the third gap they would forget and and put their hand down and miss it and in they go! Health and Safety - more like Surgical Truss! Phil Dillon - RIP

[Nine of Hearts]

I am assuming that this stretch of towpath has never suffered from any incidents of sober people falling in and drowning? So then any safety measures must only be for the inebriated. Hmmmm. I know! It's a well documented (anecdotal) fact that pissed people fare much better when falling down stairs and are less prone to injury than sober folks on same. So we should replace that stretch of towpath with stairs. Hurray!

[windy miller]

Many years ago one of our youth club members, staggering home from a night out, fell in Stoke top lock (one of the deepest on the cut) and drowned. BW then fitted ladders in every lock on the T&M, but I doubt whether it would save the seriously inebriated.

 

Moral of the story: answers on a postage stamp, but let's not ban locks.

[Robbo]

Same in Leeds as well, student gets kicked out of club, where they suggested for him to take Taxi home, but decides to find the 50cm gap in the fence and drown himself. http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/news...s-in.6167165.jp

Edited March 24, 2010 by Robbo

[matty40s]

ok,

this takes me back over 20 years......but I still remember bits vividly(even though you aren't supposed to remember anything next day).

Student, in Leicester co-incidentally, been to Halfman half biscuit gig, with lots of pop in various mixes.

The long walk home from the SU to the halls was littered with aggressive roadworks, collapsible barriers surrounding trenches and a plate glass window back into the residence rather than doors. Next day I was at the first lecture but turned a funny shade of green by 10.30am and retired. I ended up without a scratch.

 

If I had wandered near the Soar or GU , I may not be here now. I look back and think what a pillock, and I was lucky. no amount of fences or guard rails would have stopped me ploughing on, chances are I would have climbed over seeing the Pump and Tap in the distance........

 

People die,

I lost a mate at school(11) playing on the cliffs in Blackpool, the cliff collapsed and he ended up under tonnes of sand.

Sang at his funeral,

the council covered the cliffs in concrete and paving slabs,

so now people die falling off ledges and cracking their skulls on the concrete below.

Edited March 24, 2010 by matty40s

[Dominic M]

Accidents happen. We live in a society now which is so risk averse (except when it comes to driving vehicles) and no one seems prepared to take responsibility for their own actions. Perhaps a class action could be launched against God for creating a world without sufficient duty of care.

[Keeping Up]

Accidents happen. We live in a society now which is so risk averse (except when it comes to driving vehicles) and no one seems prepared to take responsibility for their own actions. Perhaps a class action could be launched against God for creating a world without sufficient duty of care.

Have you seen the film "the man who sued God" ? It always makes me laugh.

[Teakbank12]

All pedestrians ( particularly cyclists and dog-walkers) whom wish to use the towpath must first take a breath-test.

All who fail should be removed to Yarl's Wood centre (with their children for a period of at least a fortnight

The Landlord of The Polar Bear hostelry will be fined £250 for each such incident

 

Yarls Wood backs onto us, don't put any more people in there, in case they fall in the Ouse on route to the centre.

Edited March 25, 2010 by Teakbank12

[CV32]

Its very sad but people have to take responsibility for their own safety and actions. We have enough 'stupid barriers' already.

[Roger t' Bodger]

I've been posting on the Facebook site trying to temper their weird and misconceived demands for urgent action on safety measures to prevent any further tragedies. But despite all my years of experience I'm seen as a fly in the ointment and keep getting deleted.

 

http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=109676769044084

 

We haven't heard yet the results of the post mortum on Phil Dillon as he was in the cold water for 3 weeks. I still think it's strange that he was found just 100 yards down stream from where he was seen staggering on CCTV, on a night where the waters from the melting snow that fell heavily that day, had caused a steady current that I thought could have carried his body far further. I would also thought that amount of clothes he wore would have given bouyancy.

 

The one thing I would say in regards to their demands for more safety measures is that the new mooring rings that have been recently installed, in response to success of the Riverside Festival, are not recessed like the originals and present a clear trip hazard to those weaving along the towpath in the semi dark

 

BW have posted their measured response.

[jo mitch]

Not long after we gat our boat i was given a really important bit of advice "dont walk on the shiney bit". There will always be some kind of reflection on the water.

After too many drinks have always remember that and have nerver fallen in. Sometimes crawling has been a slightly easier option.