EXCLUSIVE: life-saving equipment planned where Rotherham boy drowned in canal
We can exclusively reveal plans to improve water safety where an 11 year old boy drowned in a Rotherham canal last summer
Last updated 11th Sep 2017
Hallam can exclusively reveal plans for new life-saving equipment to honour an 11 year old boy who died in a Rotherham canal.
Last week an inquest ruled Suhbaan Ali died accidently last July in the water near Parkgate Retail Park.
Funds are being raised to install two new life-saving throwlines along the stretch of canal where he drowned.
Councillor Emma Hoddinott's one of those raising money to pay for them - she says it's important to do it after such a tragic case:
"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family - it was absolutely awful circumstances. And unfortunately he's not the first person in Rotherham to have got into problems in the water and died. This has really impacted on our community and people really want to do something about it.
"Our youth cabinet were very clear that they wanted to make this a priority and they wanted to raise the dangers of being in and around water and we want to put these water lines in. Unfortunately we have had a number of children who've got into difficulties in the waterways in Rotherham and it's one too many."
It's part of plans from South Yorkshire Fire to get throwlines installed near waterways around the county.
They're lines that can be thrown to help someone who's got into trouble - which are locked away in a cabinet to prevent them being vandalised.
Anyone needing to use them can call 999 and quote a code on a board to get a another code to unlock the cabinet.
12 have recently been installed at Doncaster Lakeside.