Son slams safety measures after dad's sea death
SuppliedThe son of one of two men who died while helping two children who were in difficulty in the sea has criticised the lack of safety provision along the coast.
Wayne Taylor and Ian Pascoe were recovered from the water by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) at Seaton Carew beach in Hartlepool on Sunday, but they were pronounced dead a short time later. The two youngsters were confirmed to be safe.
The beach is only covered by lifeguards during the summer school holidays, which have yet to start, prompting calls to extend the service.
Dan Pascoe said: "Why does it take brave heroes such as my dad to put themselves in mortal danger for an obvious and all too common occurrence?"
He paid tribute to Taylor and expressed his "sincere condolences" to his family, and thanked passerby Davey Short, who helped to pull one of the children from the water.
He also thanked the RNLI and emergency services for their actions on Sunday, who he said he was sure "did all they could" to help both men.
He said people needed to be made more aware of the dangers of the sea, but said there needed to be "failsafes for where the awareness isn't enough", including barriers, safety flags to designate when water is unsafe - and lifeguards.
Hartlepool Borough Council leader Graham Harrison previously said he had asked for "a full review of the current water safety arrangements at Seaton Carew" and across the area's coastline.
BBC/Jim ScottPascoe criticised a recent decision by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to no longer pay volunteer coastguards for emergency callouts, saying it "beggars belief".
The decision was made after the Court of Appeal ruled that Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) - who are currently paid about £11 an hour - should have employee status and a right to a minimum wage because they are not unpaid volunteers.
The minimum payment for an incident is £33, even if it is resolved in less than three hours, but the MCA is to remove that payment later in the year.
The MCA said it needed to "change how the service operates" but would continue to "maintain a robust, effective search and rescue response, ensuring the highest quality of service and levels of safety".
Pascoe said: "The coastguard is an emergency service in its own right.
"England is an island with over 7,000 miles of coastline - who is making these ridiculous decisions?
"How have we, as a country, gotten to a point where if something like this happens in future, you ring 999 and no-one is coming?"
He said he needed to grieve his father's death but when he was ready, wanted to advocate for change.
"Why does it take brave heroes such as my dad, Wayne and Dave Short... to put themselves in mortal danger for an obvious and all too common occurrence?" he said.
