SAFETY fears have been raised over missing life rings on footpath at the canal at Wichelstowe.

There is a lifebelt ring station close to Waitrose but Peter Amies spotted that around eight of the 13 were missing.

He said: “It’s been like it for many weeks now.

"The belt rings are quite a way apart. If it was used in an emergency, it would be hard to locate them.

"If you had a sit down at the H&W pub, there is certainly none on that side that I can see.

“I would feel quite bad about it on my conscience if I didn’t follow it up.

"There should be regular maintenance, although vandalism is always going to be a problem.

"Someone should have a legal responsibility of maintaining them. People’s safety matters. I would hate to read of a fatality.

“On a nice day, it gets busy. If a family member or young child dropped in the bit where there aren’t any you would have a job getting anyone out.”

Peter, of Lineacre Close, contacted Swindon Borough Council to find out who was responsible for the lifebelts' upkeep. The canal is jointly owned by the authority and Wilts & Berks Canal Trust.

Rod Hacker, chairman of the Wilts & Berks Canal Trust Swindon branch, said: “The canal at East Wichel is owned by Swindon Borough Council.

"Maintenance effort is shared with the Trust under an agreement by which we look after some of the regular ground maintenance and keep the life rings available.

“The council looks after the canal and the path. The life rings often get thrown in the water and left in there. I’m sure they are not being used for what they’re meant for.

“The team collects them when they do maintenance. If they’re in the water or need replacing. Our team of volunteers have been disrupted by restrictions in recent months.

“Unfortunately, the vandals can sometimes throw them into the water faster that we can retrieve them. Of course they have to be left loose in the containers for easy access when needed.”