A life-saving campaign aims to see ladders along the Clyde painted with luminous paint.
Noted article in Evening Times
12th August 2010 along with 2 photos
Exclusive by Gordon Thomson
The Glasgow Humane Society has teamed up with Highland Colour Coaters, of Cumbernauld, to produce eye-catching lifebelt stands and ladders next to the society’s HQ at Glasgow Green.
Thousands of lives have been saved on the city’s waterways by the society.
Today chief officer George Parsonage said: “Although the humane society carries out rescues, our main aim is to help prevent accidents.
“This is why we asked Highland to design the lifebelt stand and why we would like to see it rolled out across the city. It is vital that when they are needed, people can identify lifebelts.
“This can make the difference between a lucky escape and a tragedy.”
Mr Parsonage has patrolled the city’s waterways for more than 50 years and has rescued more than 1500 people.
He knows the potentially lethal consequences of lifebelts not being seen from a distance or in the dark.
He said: “We are grateful to Highland for providing its services. Hopefully this will be the first step towards safer waterways in our city.”
He says brightly coloured lifebelt stands would be “beacons of light for people in trouble.”
Treated stands will remain luminous for more than 25 years and corrosion-free for decades.
Highland’s sales director Paul McCafferty added: “Having clearly marked lifebelt stands will help save lives and as soon as we heard there was a problem with poor visibility and corrosion of the lifebelt stands, it was a case of offering to do whatever we could.”
The safety drive has also seen society chiefs produce a “water edge” handbook for architects, planners and designers.
It offers a series of tips to make river banks safer.
These include urging existing businesses to introduce lifebelt stands next to their premises and giving waterway workers life-saving training and improving fencing.
Quick Poll
Do you think that luminous ladders and lifebelt stands along the riverside would save lives?
Yes 85%
No 7%
Don’t Know 7%