No safety gear installed despite past river death

56 minutes ago

Mark DentenNorth East and Cumbria correspondent

News image — Aras Rudzianskas and David Radut got into difficulty in the River Tyne in 2024

Supplied A composite image of Aras Rudzianskas and David Radut. Rudzianskas, on the left, has short brown hair and is wearing a grey jacket. He is smiling at the camera and has his hand raised. Radut also has short brown hair and is wearing a black jacket. He is smiling slightly at the camera. — Aras Rudzianskas and David Radut got into difficulty in the River Tyne in 2024

Safety equipment and signs were not installed at a river where two boys died, despite the previous death of a teenager in the same area, an inquest has heard.

David Radut, 14, and Aras Rudzianskas, 13, both from Newcastle, got into trouble in the River Tyne at Ovingham, Northumberland, in May 2024. Radut was pronounced dead at the scene and Rudzianskas died three days later.

Station manager at Northumberland Fire and Rescue Service (NFRS), Martin Kammeier, said there was a proposal to install a sign after Robert Hattersley, 13, also died there in July 2022.

Kammerier said there was a "degree of frustration" that it had not been installed earlier but resourcing was a "constraint".

On the second day of an inquest at County Hall in Morpeth, Kammeier said the "community risk management plan" was reviewed following Robert Hattersley's death.

He said a water safety programme included 64 talks in schools and local organisations during 2024, which was double the number the previous year.

Signs and water safety equipment were also to be placed in high risk areas including rescue lines which could assist with dragging people out of the water.

He said there was a proposal to install a sign saying 'This water is dangerous do not enter!' at "exactly" the place the boys entered the water on 18 May 2024.

River Tyne near Ovingham Bridge which is a tall, green, metal structure. There are lush green trees on the opposite river bank, and shrubbery on the nearside. — The two boys got into difficulty in the River Tyne near Ovingham Bridge

Rory Wilson from Northumberland Estates, which owns the section of river bank, told the inquest his organisation had given permission for water safety signs to be installed in the area on 19 April 2024, less than a month before the boys died.

He said the company tried to be "as helpful as possible" and he understood it had never refused a request for safety signs.

Following the deaths of the two boys, five additional sets of signs and rescue equipment were installed, Kammeier said.

However, Northumberland assistant coroner Paul Dunn said the two years between the tragedies "seemed an inordinate amount length of time to erect signs".

Bouquets of flowers on the ground of the river bank. The names 'Aras' and 'David' are drawn in the sand. — Flowers were left on the riverbank in honour of the two teenagers

Dunn also asked Kammeier why the safety signs which were subsequently installed did not mention there had been three deaths in the area.

Kammerier said he was "advised by senior managers not to do it in case it caused distress to families".

Neil Dawson, countryside and green spaces manager at Northumberland County Council, told the inquest the authority was not aware of the rope swing Radut and Rudzianskas used.

He said the council "don't inspect every last inch" of the area, but would remove rope swings and "the branch and limb" of trees they were suspended from as they became aware of them.