A Glasgow hero who rescued thousands of people from the River Clyde has made a plea for better safety measures after the tragic death of three boys in the West Midland drownings.
On Sunday afternoon, three boys died after falling into the lake at Kinghurst with a six year-old boy in hospital fighting for his life. The youngsters fell into the lake after the ice snapped before they were pulled from the freezing waters by emergency services, with one cop said to have 'punched through ice' to reach them.
In the wake of the tragedy, George Parsonage has recalled the time he recovered the bodies of three young boys when he was just 14 years old on the first rescue mission he undertook with his father in the 1950s, the Daily Record reports.
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George, now 79, said: "I've pulled hundreds of people out of the water over the years but it is much worse when it is children. Three children died on my first ever outing with my father as a 14-year-old and it has always lived with me.
"They were out on a rafting incident which was a big thing for kids in the 1950s.
"I grew up in this environment and took over from my Dad but I have semi-retired now and like to focus my energy on raising awareness about safety in the river.
"It really is about time we took the dangers of ice more seriously and start a proper campaign to make children and adults realise how dangerous it can be."
George continues to work as a consultant for the Glasgow Humane Society after retiring in 2019 where he continues to call for the additional safety measures on the Clyde he has advocated for a number of years.
He said: "It was very frustrating for me to have to watch the images on television last night.
"We need better education and for people to stop looking the other way. If we see children on the ice then chase them away. Don't be afraid to upset anyone when it could save a life!
"Time and time again we see outrage after these incidents but we have to do more before it is too late and educate children before these accidents actually happen.
"We have to remember this and have children better prepared for when the temperatures begin to drop.
"Get out into the schools in September and October and enlist all the headteachers in Scotland. The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Royal National Lifeboat Institution and Glasgow Humane Society could reinforce this message and help educate children before the ice begins to fall in winter."
While George says children need to be briefed on the dangers of the river, he also called for adults to set a better example for them.
He continued: "They do what they see adults doing. If they see adults out walking along the riverside with their dogs and letting them on the ice then it stands to reason that they must think this is a safe thing to do.
"Only two years ago we had a woman walking a dog and she let her dog onto the ice. It fell through and the fire officers had to physically stop her from going after the dog. If the ice wasn't safe enough for her wee dog then there was no way it was going to take her weight.
Over the course of his remarkable 40-year career, George was involved in more than 2000 rescues on the Clyde, working closely emergency services.
From the age of 14 helped his father Benjamin with recoveries on the waterways around the city, dedicating his career to saving lives.
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