Tenby pupils given ‘be water aware’ advice and dangers of ‘tombstoning’

Local pupils have been reminded of the dangers associated with swimming in the sea and jumping from height into the water at a multi-agency event in Tenby.

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service’s community safety teams were on hand last week ahead of another busy Bank Holiday in the seaside town working with partners from the RNLI, Dyfed-Powys Police and Pembrokeshire County Council to give advice at the ‘Breakwater’ initiative to local schools about the dangers associated with activities such as ‘tombstoning’ - which has occurred frequently in and around the harbour area and beaches in recent years, especially during the holiday season.

The dangers of ‘tombstoning’ at Tenby harbour surfaced again last summer season, with large volumes of children, youngsters (and even adults on occasions!) seen jumping into the water from the pier and harbour walls - an act considered dangerous because of the risk of hitting water from a height, and that posed by underwater hazards such as rocks and shallow water.

Boat owners have stated in the past, that when they have to manoeuvre a vessel in and out of the harbour carrying a large crowd of passengers for example, focus is on their safety - yet youngsters still choosing to jump into the water off the pier, end up swimming around the boats, which causes big concerns for boat operators.

“We know that they’re trying to have fun but it causes big concerns for us boat operators,” said one such boat owner at a past ‘Breakwater’ event held at the harbour, to raise awareness of the dangers of the practice.

“Young people may think that boats can stop immediately but they are not like cars.

“The worst scenario is someone could clank their head against the bow of the boat, go under and connect with the propeller and it could make mince meat out of someone.

“It’s only a matter of time before something tragic happens, and everyone would have to live with something like that,” they added.

Ysgol Greenhill in Tenby whose Year 7 pupils attended the event gave a ‘big thank you’ to all the agencies involved in organising and delivering the ‘be water aware’ advice, with ‘lots of learning’ about safety in the Harbour area.