'Make canal safe after my sister fell in and died'

The family of a woman who died after falling into a canal are calling for safety barriers to be installed around the water, to prevent further tragedies.

Mum-of-five Jody Brown, 38, was pulled from the canal basin off Wolverhampton Street in Walsall in the early hours of 3 May.

Her brother Paul Clarke, 42, described her as "bubbly and outgoing". His petition calling for barriers or safety fencing has so far attracted about 200 signatures.

The BBC has approached the Canal and River Trust (C&RT), which looks after the waterways, and Walsall Council for comment.

Clarke, from Walsall, told the BBC his family were "absolutely heartbroken" and wanted to raise awareness of the danger surrounding a square section of the canal in the town centre.

"The canal is quite dangerous... I live right by it myself," he said. "There's no safety barriers at all. There's just a little bit where the bar is, but it's still all open.

"We just want better safety measures."

West Midlands Police confirmed an unnamed woman was pulled from the canal on 3 May and the death was not being treated as suspicious.

"Our thoughts remain with her loved ones at this terrible time," the force previously said in a statement.

Clarke said there were many pubs and restaurants surrounding the waterfront and he had previously seen other people falling in the water.

"I've seen children falling in," he added.

"And there's big cars that actually drive on to this big square bit where it looks like grass on top of the water. There's been other deaths in the past there as well."

Multiple people, including a man and his son, have fallen into the water in the past and a buoy was installed in 2021 in a bid to warn people of the danger.

"The canal is a vital part of our community, and making it safer should be a top priority," Clarke wrote.

The 42-year-old said his sister Jody had been in the area at a hotel at the time, and there was CCTV of her walking along the canal's edge before she fell.

"She's accidentally walking off, gone off block, fell in," Clarke explained.

"She left the hotel... she left there and then she walked in.

"I don't think she could swim."

He told the BBC his sister was a "lovely" person who had loved a "laugh and a joke".

"She was bubbly, very outgoing, had a lot of friends," he said.

"I'd like to see some safety barriers put in place to stop it from happening to other families, having to get through the heartache."

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