Grieving Rotherham dad eager to get more water safety equipment installed locally
Simon Haycock's 16-year-old son Sam drowned at the Ulley reservoir just over six months ago
The father of a South Yorkshire teenager who drowned earlier this year insists he 'can't rest' without trying to make a difference.
16-year-old Sam Haycock lost his life at the Ulley reservoir in Rotherham back in May.
Since then, his dad Simon's launched an online petition to try and get more safety equipment installed at all open water sites across the region:
"I can't sit back and watch another family go through what we've been through with Sam.
"Things need to change. It's small changes that can make a difference, whether it's signage, whether it's throwlines, or just general maintenance around these places that make the actual safety equipment more visible and accessible when somebody does actually need it.
"Some of the waterways that we've looked at are quite well equipped, but then there are others which haven't got anything. This can't stay as it is, every open water site should have some kind of life saving equipment, just in case things go wrong.
"The education side of things from my point of view is very, very important. I've recently delivered a few water safety talks in local schools, and it's vital to teach these youngsters how dangerous the open water can be.
"Not everybody is going to listen though, as peer pressure is quite a powerful thing.
"If it goes wrong, and the equipment is there in plain sight, then at least it's going to be accessible."
We also asked Mr. Haycock what else he's looking to achieve in the long term:
"We're trying to make a change in the law to make it a criminal offence to even tamper with this sort of equipment. We want more warning signs to be set up at all open water sites as well.
"What's happened to Sam is keeping me determined to make sure that we make a difference.
"However, the emptiness of his loss is still there, and it won't ever go away.
"Anybody that's lost a child will understand-it's a pain which you just can't describe."
You can access the petition set up in Sam's memory below:
Rotherham Council’s Assistant Director of Community Safety and Street Scene, Tom Smith, told us: “We were all deeply saddened by Sam’s tragic passing, especially as so much work has been done over many years to try to prevent such incidents happening, both at Ulley Country Park and other locations.
“We have plans in place to install more signs at Ulley, and a review of signage has taken place across the other open water spaces that Rotherham Council is responsible for.
“To deter groups from gathering near the bridge at Ulley we have agreed new parking restrictions, which will be implemented in the new year. A new parapet barrier is also to be installed, which will make it far more difficult for anyone to jump from the bridge.
“We will continue to work with the Haycock’s to explore if there are further actions that the Council can take.”