HAVING written a number of letters to The Press over the last year on river safety I must agree that grab chains have much to recommend them however some aspects of the proposal concern me.
The Foss is a river with a controlled level making it far more suited to fixed chains than the Ouse where the level of the river is weather dependant and quite often the grab chains would be submerged totally.
A large percentage of water emergencies occur after dark and locating a grab chain in the dark when in some distress would present quite a challenge especially if the chain was submerged due to flood.
Were the chain to have a brightly coloured flotation device attached it would allow easy location and provide flotation for that vital time before help arrived.
Our rescue services do a sterling job but having something to hang on to during the lag phase between alarm and rescue is a vital element if lives are to be saved.
J A Whitmore,
Orchard Paddock,
Haxby
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