Newsrooms unite to demand action after 6 Humber Bridge deaths in a month
Two newsrooms have joined forces to demand action to prevent more deaths on the Humber Bridge.
The call follows a month which saw six people taking their lives on the bridge in the past month alone.
Authorities have already closed footpaths on the bridge — but HullLive and GrimsbyLive say permanent solutions need to be found.
“With the tally too great to ignore any longer, we’re joining forces with our sister title GrimsbyLive to shine a light on the issue and campaign for more to be done,” said HullLive in an article published yesterday.
The decision to close walkways across the bridge have not found favour with everyone — a poll on the HullLive website at the weekend showed a majority of respondents didn’t agree with the plan.
Reports now suggest some staff who work there are struggling with their mental health due to the regularity of such traumatic incidents, while others are reportedly coming to terms with the harrowing idea that dealing with death may now be an unexceptional feature of their work.
In the first 26 years since its opening, more than 200 people were reported to have jumped or fallen from the bridge, with only five survivors.
The Humber Bridge Suicide Safety Measures group has been campaigning for six years for more measures to help secure the bridge, whether through the addition of raised barriers or gates at either end, since the tragic death of 14-year-old Will Shaw in September 2014.
Talks will take place this week to look at possible long-term solutions.
