Safety fears as youths jump off Betws-y-Coed bridge

Jun 10 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

Betws-y-Coed bridge jumpers

DEATH defying bridge jumpers have been warned they are not only risking their own lives, but those of others.

A huge crowd of onlookers blocked-off Pont-y-Pair bridge, Betws-y-Coed, early on Thursday afternoon as holiday makers and day-trippers, young and old, peered over the bridge’s parapet to get a closer look at a groups of youths jumping into the water.

A number of men, varying in age, jumped from rocks under the bridge into the treacherous River Llugwy below – with the murky waters meaning the depth could not be identified.

A North Wales Police spokesperson said police went to the scene at 4pm after reports of people jumping from the bridge. He said: “We have a record of reports of four youths jumping off the bridge in Betws-y-Coed, there was no report of any injuries.

“When officers attended there was no-one seen jumping off the bridge, but suitable verbal warnings were given to four youths not to jump.”

He added: “There was nothing in the report about the CCTV being used and no fixed penalty notices given out either.”

New owner of Bryn Afon guest house, which is located just off Pont-y-Pair bridge- Julie Noble said she thought jumping from the bridge was seemingly in tradition in the village.

She said: “We are fairly new here so we have only witnessed a couple of incidents of jumping but I am told it has been going on for years.”

But community council chairman Jim Boughton is concerned with the situation saying jumping will continue. He said: “We were promised a fully-functional CCTV system and enforcement team monitoring the bridge activity by Conwy’s Community Enforcement Manager, Roly Schwarz in April, but here we are in June heading towards the summer holiday period with people still getting away with risking their lives.

“Jumping from any part of Pont-y-Pair bridge is a big concern for us because of its knock-on effects. Not only are the people jumping from the rocks around the bridge risking their own lives but they attract large crowds of on-lookers who gather on the bridge to watch, this blocks off the already narrow bridge to traffic and causes safety issues. And unfortunately anti-social behaviour also often occurs from this activity which is not something we wish to encourage.”

He added: “I dearly we would like to change the by-law to stop people jumping from the rocks under the bridge and from swimming in the river there.”

Mr Schwarz said: “We are aware of this problem and the concerns surrounding the matter and where appropriate we will take action.”

Local County Cllr Liz Roberts said the problem would not go away overnight and that further partnership working was needed. She said: “We have an enforcement team set up now and at the next meeting on July 5, we will look at how we can improve how we coordinate this.”

Watch a video of the youths jumping into the river Conwy now by visiting www.northwalesweeklynews.co.uk