Campaign for emergency phones at bridges to save lives

Temporary mobiles are in place at the moment

Two bridges in North Devon from which people have ended their lives could have emergency telephones installed permanently if a campaign is successful.

Barnstaple-based Bulletin Media wants to raise £2,000 to put the phones on Torridge Bridge, Bideford and Taw Bridge in Barnstaple.

The campaign has been backed by Cllr Dermot McGeough, who represents Northam on Devon County Council. He is calling on the authority, which is responsibile for bridges, to help with funding for North Devon and replicate it across the county. He said you can’t put a price on a life.

“The county council has put in higher railings on these bridges but phones could make a difference too. It might just make someone think about making that call for help.”

Mr McGeough said three of his friends had taken their own lives at the Torridge Bridge.

Figures revealed by the police showed  72 ‘concern for welfare’ incidents at Taw Bridge over a 12-month period a few years ago and two deaths.

Bulletin Media has placed mobile phones in clear boxes at the bridges as an interim measure.

The campaigners also want CCTV installed to help people who are considering ending their lives at the bridges.

Devon has the largest number of bridges in the UK, and the south west had the highest suicide rate in England in 2022. And NHS figures showed that one in 20 people in Torridge were in contact with mental health services in 2023.

Russel Rogers, part of the Bulletin Media group which has organised the fundraiser, said there is a big problem in North Devon and that services which had been stopped through lack of funding, like Link Centres, had been “a lifeline for so many.

“Bideford and Barnstaple bridges have Samaritans posters saying ‘we’re here, free call, talk to us’, yet unfortunately, not a single phone to use. Our aim is to change that,” he said.

“We have put a clear waterproof box with a pre-paid mobile phone in them, clearly highlighted, so someone in distress can make possibly the most important call of their life; that call for help.

“That call could be to the Samaritans, 999, the crisis team, or someone they trust to listen.”

The company checks the phones every few days for charge and replaces them.

It’s now seeking public support to raise funds for more secure boxes with solar chargers for the phones, additional signs with helpline numbers, and further emergency access phone installations on both bridges.

The campaign has a Go Fund Me webpage listed as ‘Help us improve the emergency access phones on our bridges.’