A hard-hitting public safety campaign has been launched by Portsmouth City Council in a bid to deter young people from ‘tombstoning’, jumping into the sea from a height, along the seafront in Portsmouth and Southsea.
Tombstoning – where people jump into the sea from a height – has been rife in the city for a number of years, with the Hot Walls and South Parade Pier being common hotspots.
But Portsmouth City Council is urging youngsters to reconsider what they’re doing, and think about the consequences if it all goes wrong.
The ‘Sorry Mum’ campaign posters, which will be displayed at strategic points along the seafront, feature vivid photographs of young people receiving emergency medical care in the aftermath of an accident.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), over 80 per cent of those involved in the most serious tombstoning accidents were male and just over half the cases involved teenagers.
Deputy council leader, Cllr Steve Pitt, said: ‘The aim of this campaign is to make sure that when young people are out enjoying our coastline they are not putting themselves in harm’s way.
‘Tombstoning is an activity that can have life-changing or even fatal consequences and we want people to stop and think about the devastating impact one wrong jump could have on them and their loved ones.