Erskine Bridge action plea

Published 14 Jul 2010 15:00

Nine months after two teenage girls tragically took their lives at the Erskine Bridge, no preventive measures have been put in place there.

The national impact of the shocking deaths of Georgia Rowe, 14, and Neve Lafferty, 15, who ended their lives at the bridge in October last year, led to calls for measures at the suicide spot.

Meetings between community groups, politicians, councils and Transport Scotland followed and residents declared 'enough was enough'.

In March plans to increase the height of barriers there were announced, with Transport Scotland saying CCTV would be erected to improve security until the barriers were ready.

While tests on the barriers are progressing, arguments over who would monitor the cameras, or even whether to proceed with the project, means no action has yet been taken.

Ann Morgan whose former partner Hamish died at the bridge, tragically witnessed another death there recently.

She was working on her butterfly garden project, near the foot of the structure, which is supposed to be a relaxing space for relatives of people who have taken their own lives to visit.

Ann said: "It was extremely distressing for me to see that and I've been trained to deal with these types of things.

"Since that happened I've drawn back from encouraging people to join in with the butterfly garden project until they've got something in place to stop people going over the bridge.

"It wouldn't be right for someone to come and visit the garden and see something like that.

"There was somebody up last weekend, and somebody up two weeks before that - it seems every couple of weeks someone is up there and it's too much.

"Why are they dragging their heels about the CCTV?"

But West Dunbartonshire Council says it does not believe CCTV is an effective suicide prevention method and neighbouring Renfrewshire Council is still evaluating its position.

Despite no resounding support from the councils that will have to monitor the equipment, Transport Scotland is still pushing ahead with the project.

A spokeswoman said: "Following careful consultation with elected members and the communities near the Erskine Bridge, Transport Scotland is developing a design for a CCTV system which will act as an interim measure while a more permanent suicide prevention solution is developed.

"This CCTV system will use 14 cameras to monitor suspicious activity and be installed at a cost of approximately £350,000 subject to agreement on monitoring."

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This article appeared in Clydebank Post 14 Jul 10

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