Life buoys along the River Leven could be repositioned and placed in protective casing to prevent “mindless” vandals from throwing them into the water unnecessarily.
During West Dunbartonshire Council’s housing and communities meeting it was confirmed that the Scottish Fire and Rescue team is continuing to work on its water safety campaign while supplying water rings to the River Leven.
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It comes as concerns were raised by councillors that the life belts were being thrown off the bridges along the River Leven and into water.
Labour councillor John Millar: “I have noticed that on a few occasions, Stuckie Bridge for instance, the life buoys have been thrown off the bridge.
“They are there for a day or a day and a half and then they are gone again. Has anyone ever thought about repositioning them on the banking at either side to try and mitigate the vandalism that is going to happen anyway.
“How can we resolve that issue? Can we put the life belts in cases to protect them? This is mindless vandalism and makes it difficult for people who do end up in the water to get to safety.”
Around £5000 has already been donated to fund life saving equipment in West Dunbartonshire and the fire department is looking for ways to keep them safe.
Joe McKay, of the Scottish Fire and Rescue, said: “We are writing an article regarding the dangers of removing the belts and all the time and effort that goes to try and reduce the impact of someone going into the water.
“We will only solve this problem if we work together to try and safeguard local residents. We will look at that to try and see if there are other options available.”
SNP councillor Karen Conaghan informed the committee that talks were taking place to resolve the issue and it was hoped protective casing might be part of the answer.
She said: “We are looking to have them put inside cases along the river bank. It is a piece of work that is ongoing with the council and all its partners.
“We are also working with schools to show them what will happen if there is no life saving equipment and the potential loss of life that can occur.
“Hopefully we will get somewhere with this but I don’t think we will ever eliminate some of the mindless attitudes where people do something stupid where people do something without thinking about it.”
