Changes to the way emergency services handle drownings now in place following death of Leeds man
Marcus, 29, died after falling into the River Aire in December last year
Last updated 24th Jul 2024
Major changes to the way emergency services across Yorkshire handle drownings are now in place, following the death of 29-year-old Marcus Castle.
Mr Castle fell into the River Aire, on the 17 December 2023, after his Christmas works night out.
His mum Katrina, soon learnt that passers-by couldn't access potentially life-saving throwlines, despite one being around 100 meters away.
One person rang 999 and asked for the ambulance service, and the call handler didn't have access to the pin, which unlocks the flotation device.
Another person phoned 999 and asked for the fire service, while a throwline was mentioned, no pin was given, due to the call handler trying to establish location among other things.
Back in May, we exclusively spoke to Mrs Castle, who told us she wants all call handlers to have access to the throwline pins.
An inquest into Mr Castle's death took place on Tuesday, and the court heard how the Yorkshire Ambulance Service have formally requested for all emergency call handlers, across the country to have access to the throwline pins.
The court also heard how West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue have now implemented a process, for all their call handlers to give the pin code out, if they know someone is near a throwline.
The coroner concluded Mr Castle's death was an accident and said no prevention of future death report was needed, due to being satisfied that lessons have been learnt. The coroner also referred to the national change being implemented by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service.