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Council launches canal safety project
 Wigan Council and Wigan Leisure and Culture Trust are urging parents to
get their children involved in a summer Canalside project.
The plea follows reports in the Wigan Evening Post last month that
children were hurling themselves into 12ft deep water at Woodhouse Lane
locks, the stretch of canal where twelve year-old Liam Green tragically
drowned in April 2005.
In a bid to raise awareness about the risks of such behaviour, the
Children & Young People’s Services Outdoor Education Team is running a
month long project teaching young people how to stay safe on the
borough’s canals.
Outdoor Education Team Manager Eric Bradbury says: “We run this project
every year because most people simply aren’t aware of the dangers.
Canals tend to look fairly harmless because they are narrow and people
often presume they will easily find their way to safety if they start to
struggle in the water.
“However, temperatures below the surface can be very low, even on the
hottest of days. The heat change can send even the strongest swimmer
into a state of shock, weakening the limbs and making it very difficult
to get out of the water.”
“This project teaches young people how to enjoy the canals safely. It is
a lot of fun and it provides children with something exciting and
interesting to do during the summer holidays.”
Canalside gives young people aged between 11 and 21 the opportunity to
kayak and canoe under the supervision of fully trained staff. The
primary focus is to promote safety but it also teaches youths about the
history of the canals and their importance to tourism.
The scheme is free and open to all young people, although under 18s must
have a consent form completed by their parent or guardian prior to
taking part. Over 30 Canalside sessions will be held between July 17th
and August 25th at a number of locations across the borough including:
Wigan Pier, Poolstock, Ince, Crooke, Dover Lock, Plank Lane, Beech Hill,
Pennington and Scotsmans Flash.
Martin Eden, Executive Director for Sport and Healthy Living for Wigan
Leisure and Culture Trust, says, "It is important that young people
recognise the dangers associated with swimming in Wigan's canals and we
applaud the Canalside project. We introduced Freestyle so people aged 16
and under can swim in a safe and healthy environment for free. We
already have around 23,000 signed up to the scheme and we hope even more
young people will take the safe option and use their local leisure
centre when they fancy a swim."
For further information on Canalside, or to request a leaflet containing
dates, times and locations, please contact Eric Bradbury on (01942)
769812.
-ends-
Notes to Editors
Further information
• For further information about Canalside please contact Eric Bradbury
on (01942) 769812.
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