YORK’S Coroner has called for measures to prevent further tragedies in the River Ouse after hearing how a 26-year-old man drowned.

Donald Coverdale is writing to City of York Council to press for longer ropes to be attached to lifebelts sited along the riverside.

He is also asking for the ropes to be secured in such a way as to prevent tangling or knotting, and wants the life buoys to be clearly visible, possibly with a pillar or beacon. “Steps should be taken to ensure they are visible, bearing in mind large numbers of people may be assembled on the riverbank and might hide them from view”. He said if his concerns could be addressed, lives could be saved in the future.

An inquest heard Paul Alan Rogerson drowned on Saturday, March 26, after he fell from Ouse Bridge while on a night out with a friend, despite rescue attempts from passing police officers and members of the public.

PC Alastair Gill said the trainee accountant had been walking behind him and then jumped on to the bridge parapet to get around him and his colleague, at about 2am.

PC Gill said: “I could see he was just larking around. He did a hop, skip and jump, bouncing along the bridge wall, and maybe took four or five steps. As he put his left foot forward, closest to the side of the river, he lost his balance and fell.”

PC Gill told the inquest he had taken a lifebelt from the side of the bridge and prepared to swim out to Mr Rogerson with it within a minute of the fall, but quickly had to turn back due to the cold temperature of the Ouse: “I could feel my own legs and arms just slowing down. I remember thinking ‘I’m no use to him if I get into trouble too’. There came a time when his movements started to slow and he was clearly struggling. His chin went below the water, then the rest of him did. His head sank below the water and the fire service attended within that minute.”

Mr Rogerson’s body was found by a police diving team just before 10am the following morning, and PC Gill said he felt that the life rings by the side of the bridge were inadequate. The riverbank is approximately two to three metres higher than the water,” he said. “This means the rope has a greater distance to cover. Police at the scene discovered the buoy could only go about two metres into the water.”

Mr Coverdale praised the actions of PC Gill and his colleagues.

Paul’s mother, Karen, said: "I think the council needs to look at its lifesaving measures. There’s no point them being there if they don't reach to the middle of the river.”

Dave Meigh, the city council’s head of parks and open spaces, said: “We have not yet received any correspondence from the coroner’s office so are unable to comment on any specific recommendations that may have been made at this time.

“We will of course consider any recommendations carefully to see if we can further improve safety measures around the city’s open water.

“The current provision of the council’s lifebuoys is in line with guidance provided by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents.”