A member of the public has raised concerns with Island Echo about youngsters ‘tombstoning’ off Ryde Pier into the potentially shallow waters below.
A reader has got in touch to describe her horror at seeing 2 men climb over the railings at Ryde Pier before diving into the water below. If that wasn’t concerning enough, 2 teenagers were then witnessed to do the same thing just minutes later.
The incident took place just 100m from the shore yesterday evening (Monday).
A call was made to Police via 101 at the time but no action taken. By this time a girl had climbed over the railings and was being encouraged to jump whilst onlookers shouted for her to get back on the right side of the safety barrier. The girl then jumped into the barely chest-high water.
The act of tombstoning describes when someone jumps into water from cliffs, piers and other structures at height. Incidents across the country over the years have demonstrated the dangers of jumping into water of unknown depth, with many people sustaining life-changing injuries or worse as a result of hitting the sea bed or underwater objects.
Wightlink – the owners of the Pier – have been informed of the incident.
Anyone who sees someone in difficulty at the coast should call 999 immediately and ask for the Coastguard
