Gas Street revellers leaping into danger
BIRMINGHAM narrowboat dwellers have warned that it’s only a matter of time before a reveller drowns.David and Brenda Scowcroft say they have been awoken on “countless” occasions by people who have tried and failed to jump the seven feet across the Gas Street canal.
The couple say the majority of jumpers do not make it across safely and end in six feet in water, suffering from injuries and calling for help in the early hours.
They are now pleading with British Waterways to erect a safety fence near the water’s edge to stop people attempting to leap across, as there are on other sections of the basin.
Mr Scowcroft, a former soldier aged 61 whose boat, Mr David, is moored at Worcester Bar, said: “We get people jumping from one side of the lock to the other, and they cannot make it.
“It is seven feet across and they just manage to make six feet.
“We have seen a man with severe facial injuries and a broken leg.
“We can hear people calling for help, sometimes at 4am, and you don’t know who it is.”
Mr Scowcroft added: “We are concerned that someone could die, especially in winter when the water is freezing.
“We have been on the phone to British Waterways and the simple answer is a small fence to stop people jumping. They have said that they are looking into it – and nothing happens.”
Mr Scowcroft, chairman of the Worcester Bar Residents Association, said he had been complaining about the problem for four years.
A British Waterways spokesman said: “We are in discussions with Birmingham City Council about the possible options available to try and prevent the anti-social behaviour occurring at Gas Street Basin.”
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