No safety sign two years after dog swept away

Safety signage is yet to be installed two years after a dog was swept away.

Cocker spaniel Bodie fell into the water from the jetty at Roa Island near Barrow, Cumbria in the summer of 2024.

A final design for a permanent warning sign at the site was approved in October the same year, but has not been placed yet.

Westmorland and Furness Council said it hoped the signage could be installed "by the end of next week", but did not explain the reason for the delay.

Barrow Town Councillor Paul Griffiths worked with the council, which agreed a permanent barrier and warning sign were "urgently needed".

Griffiths told the Local Democracy Reporting Service he chased up the council on multiple occasions, sometimes receiving no response or being told it would be a "couple of weeks" and the sign was "on order".

He said he was told the officer who approved the sign no longer worked for the council, but said their leaving "didn't explain that delay" as he pursued them until at least April 2025.

"It's frustrating but also concerning that the council officer agreed for the need to install a warning/information sign but didn't follow it through in a timely manner," he said.

Griffiths added the sign was a "key addition" to water safety measures at Roa Island, because Bodie's owner had told him he did not know he could reach the coastguard via 999.

The council confirmed the sign had been made and it hoped it would be installed "by the end of next week".

A site visit with a contractor was planned for early next week, the local authority added.

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