Evening Times - March 26, 2009
River danger of 'raft' bags
BUILDERS are being warned to keep their construction sites secure - after a group of youngsters were caught dicing with death.
Around 20 children, aged between eight and 14-years-old, took 10ft long polystyrene-filled "sausage" bags from a building site in Polmadie Road.
They hauled them to the Clyde and were about to use them as rafts.
George Parsonage of the Glasgow Humane Society was alerted and set off in his boat to investigate.
The kids had taken around 15 of the tubes, which are used to provide safety cushioning beneath scaffolding, and dragged them into the water.
Mr Parsonage managed to scare the youngsters away and towed eight of the makeshift rafts back to his base at Glasgow Green.
But just days later other children were back at the river with more of the tubes They again they ran off when Mr Parsonage appeared.
He said: "I reckon there would have been a tragedy if they had not been stopped."
Mr Parsonage is now calling on builders to ensure children cannot get their hands on equipment left lying around on their sites.
He said: "What would have happened if this been at a building site next to a canal where there is no equivalent of the Humane Society or no rowers to report what is happening.
"Builders should put their equipment into containers or take it off-site to prevent children getting a hold of it."
A spokesman for the Health and Safety Executive in Scotland said: "We would warn young people that building sites are not playground and are dangerous.
"Site owners have a duty not only to protect people working on the site but also members of the public who might be affected by work on site."
Exclusive by Vivienne Nicoll