Calls for wardens at dangerous lake near Scunthorpe

It follows the death of a 14 year old boy two years ago

Calls for wardens at dangerous lake near Scunthorpe
Author: Andy MarshPublished 5th Jun 2023

There are calls for wardens to be put in place at a dangerous lake near Scunthorpe with locals saying they think the worst every time they hear sirens

It follows the death of 14 year old boy who drowned at Ashbyville nature reserve two years ago.

Others have also got into difficulty there.

Labour councillors have raised their concerns.

The ward councillor for Ashby Lakeside Judith Matthews says people are really worried.

You can't knock on a door without someone mentioning Ashbyville

We spoke to her about her concerns.

She said: "You can't knock on a door without someone bringing up in Ashbyville and how everytime they hear sirens they worry, they panic that someone has been injured or lost their lives."

"That's what we're getting on the doorsteps day in and day out."

"The cost of living crisis has made it impossible for some families to afford to go swimming."

"Families seem to enjoy the good weather and they seem to feel they have nowhere to go and they go to Ashbyville and they don't realise the dangers."

There's lots more action we could take

We also spoke to another Labour councillor Max Bell about the issue.

He said: "When we know that the weather's good, when we know the footfall is there then unfortunately you run the risk of more local residents, vulnerable people, children being seriously injured or worse."

"Either some people aren't aware of the signs or get peer pressure to go swimming when it's not safe."

"There's lots more action we could take."

We have approached North Lincolnshire Council for a comment.

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