Wire U-Turn

The wire mesh work was completed in time for the beginning of the summer holidays and marks a complete turn around of opinion by the council, who were convinced the railings did not need to be made any safer.

Arun District Council head of environmental amenities Kevin Bashford explained: "We did more risk assessments and, on balance, I decided

that we should take the action and fill in the top half, despite the likelihood of other complainants, such as people fishing and crabbing.

"We chose the safest option over the safer option."

Concerns about the railings situated alongside the mouth of the River Arun at Littlehampton were brought to the public's attention in February.

Three-year-old Naomi Gittus was on the front page of the Littlehampton Gazette after she slipped through a gap in the top half of the three bar railings and into the river.

Her father, John Ormerod jumped in after her and the pair were miraculously saved by a passing fisherman.

Naomi's mother, Sarah, was delighted at the latest news: "I am obviously very pleased that the council has done something about it, and that there have been no other accidents."

After Naomi's accident, many concerned parents contacted Arun District Council, asking them to consider covering up the top half of the railings.

Before the recent improvements, the safety barriers consisted of standard three-bar railings with the bottom half filled in with mesh.

The problem for many people was the top half about the same size and height as the distance between a small child's waist and head which was not covered by any protective mesh.

And Littlehampton Town councillor Malcolm Belchamber had found little sympathy when he brought the matter up at a liaison meeting between the town council and Arun in March, 2001.

He was also delighted with the news: "Some of the original campaigners have said thank you, not that I did a great deal.

"People are quite pleased with the result."