Campaigners 'devastated' after vandals target life-saving kit

A throw-line station at Thrybergh Country Park – paid for by fundraisers – was “damaged, vandalised and completely shaken out of the ground”, said Cllr Jodi Ryalls, a founding member of Sam's Army Mission.

The charity was co-founded by Simon and Gaynor Haycock, the parents of 16-year-old son Sam who died after jumping into deep water at Ulley Reservoir in May 2021 while celebrating the last day of the school year with his friends.

Simon and the charity has campaigned ever since for open water safety awareness and life-saving measures – including fundraising for throw-lines at parks across the region including at Thrybergh.

Earlier this month, Simon shared his son's heart-breaking story as part of a South Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service campaign aimed at raising awareness of the hidden dangers of open water.

The 'Sam’s Story' short film was launched at an event at Sheffield College as part of the national Drowning Prevention Week campaign and has since been viewed on Youtube more than 7,500 times.

Speaking to the Advertiser just a week after attending the event where the video was launched, Cllr Ryalls condemned those responsible for the vandalism and reminded them: “It is now a criminal offence to tamper with life-saving equipment.”

“We are absolutely devastated,” she said.

“Why someone would do this and what goes through a person's mind, I will never know.

“This piece of equipment is there to possibly save someone’s life.

“I know they're not the prettiest looking things and some might think they're an eyesore but they are there for a reason.

“We raise money to install this life-saving equipment, we spend our free time – hours and hours on end – to raise what we can to purchase this vital equipment which could possibly save lives and costs nearly £2,000 a station without installation costs on top.

“I feel really deflated and upset that someone could do this knowing what it is there for – to save a life.”

Cllr Ryalls has met with the team at Thrybergh to discuss further measures such as increasing ranger patrols and to explore the possibility of CCTV being installed.

“We had CCTV installed at Ulley Country Park,” she said, “so now we will have to see if we can do it at Thrybergh, too.”

Last year a SYFR spokesperson said it was “incredibly disturbed” after throw-lines at Holmes Lock were vandalised three times in a single week in May.

Commenting on the recent vandalism, Russell Sanderson, SYFR community safety watch manager said: “We are deeply disappointed to learn that a throwline at Thrybergh Country Park has been vandalised – this equipment is in place to save lives.

“Just two weeks ago we launched ‘Sam’s Story’, our latest water safety campaign telling the heart breaking story of teenager Sam Haycock who drowned after jumping into the Ulley Reservoir.

“Having these throwlines in place can help prevent future drownings and we urge anyone who witnesses lifesaving equipment being tampered with to report it to 101.”