THE death of a dad who drowned in a Manchester canal has prompted city centre chiefs to launch a safety action plan.

Wayne Bonner, 44, died last weekend, trying to save his stepson, who had fallen on to the towpath of the Rochdale Canal from the thigh-high wall along Canal Street, in the Gay Village.

His death is the latest in a string of casualties on the waterway in recent years.

Local businesses say it could have been avoided if there were better health and safety measures along the cobbled, bar-lined street, which is popular with revellers.

Representatives from Greater Manchester Police, Manchester council, British Waterways, the Fire Service, CityCo and the Village Business Association (VBA) met yesterday and have vowed to work together to make the area safer.

Street lighting, warning signs and plans to heighten the wall - which is around just one foot at its lowest - were suggested and GMP will now draw up an action plan.

Other ideas included:

* Installing a handrail along the wall;

* Putting chain fencing beside it similar to that in Castlefield;

* Training doormen to operate a safety line that could be thrown in if someone is in danger.

A short-term awareness campaign, including putting signs on lampposts and safety announcements in bars, will be launched over the coming bank holidays.

Longer-term measures could be hampered by planning red tape, as the 200-year-old wall has listed status and there is dispute between British Waterways, which maintains the canal, and the council as to who has ultimate responsibility for it.

A VBA member said some bar owners were prepared to club together to create a decking area with a screen against the canal to prevent further deaths.

Before the meeting, VBA chairman Phil Burke said: "We have said for a long time that the low wall is an accident waiting to happen and all we have ever tried to do in the past is to look after people's safety.

"The council and the city centre management company have been very supportive but when we tried to get permission to put signs on the wall alongside the canal warning people of the dangers of falling over into the water below, but we were met by bureaucracy and red tape by British Waterways and couldn't get permission."

Debbie Lumb, of British Waterways, said: "There's hundreds of thousands who visit waterways and leave alive but this is a tragedy and we will work with everyone to try to prevent any more."

Sgt Chris Smith, of GMP, who called the meeting, said: "This was a needless death. It's now all about stopping people dying in the canal, not about attributing blame."

City centre spokesman Coun Pat Karney said: "The council want to see a radical improvement in safety here. This stretch is now one of the most dangerous in terms of tragedies."

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