Safety improvements will prevent further river deaths in Durham
A report by the Royal Society for the Prevent of Accidents found the city to be a 'good model' for other cities to adopt.
A report into river safety in Durham says new improvements have made the city a 'safer' place.
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) inspected safety measures around the river in spring 2015 and found a number of high risks spots.
It came after three students drowned in the river in a 15 month period, all after nights out.
The county council, Cathedral and University spent £230,000 on improvement works.
These works included better lighting, the installation of barriers and renovation of public safety equipment.
In addition, an awareness scheme was launched at the university to warn students about the dangers of the river.
Since the improvements, there haven't been any further deaths and RoSPA found “the group’s work and continued plans are a very good model for other regions and cities to adopt."
Durham's City Safety was set up in February 2015 after the deaths of Sope Peters, Luke Pearce and Euan Coulthard.
The new Chair of Durham’s City Safety Group, Oliver Sherratt, said: “As a group we invited RoSPA back following the completion of a really wide range of physical improvements and a continuing programme of training, education and risk assessment in the city.
“Whilst it’s important to say that Durham is a very safe city and it is heartening to receive such a sound endorsement of our work, there is no room for complacency and, as a group; we will need to regularly review the wide range of safety measures in place.”
RoSPA’s leisure safety manager, David Walker, said: “The group’s work and continued plans are a very good model for other regions and cities to adopt and we are promoting Durham’s City Safety Group as good practice to others.
“The council has demonstrated its commitment to the continued promotion of water safety by hosting our national water safety conference in November – we would strongly encourage this continued sharing of learning.
“The current activities of the group should be commended and maintained to ensure that future challenges are identified and managed.
“Whilst no one can eliminate risk and personal responsibility is a key factor, the group’s work has had a significant impact on making Durham an even safer city.”