Another drowns

A STUDENT  who had drunk a bottle of wine, five vodka shots and a number of cocktails, who could hardly stand, stumbled by the Avon in Bath, fell in and drowned.

Now of course there are once again demands to make rivers safer, with in this case James Bubear's death prompting civic leaders to commission an investigation by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to see whether anything could be done to keep people safe by the river.

Struggling to stand

At the inquest is was stated that James was 'struggling to stand up and needed support, his speech was slurred and he couldn't walk in a straight line'.

A toxicology report found the student had 188 milligrams of alcohol per 100 millilitres of blood,  more than twice the drink drive limit of 80.

Found month later

Despite an extensive search his body was not discovered until nearly one month later, when it was found at Locksbrook sluice gates at Twerton.  This is the third such death in two years.

The coroner  recorded a verdict of accidental death.

The problem with implementing safety measures along the riverbank, that dependants of those drowned demand, is the fact that there are different owners of different lengths of the waterside, that make it difficult to  erect fencing to stop people falling in.

It is a great pity, as many have stated before, that people do not take responsibility for their own actions.