SCHOOLS COMPETITION WARNS CHILDREN OF PORT DANGERS
Earlier this summer, Associated British Ports (ABP), which owns and operates the Port of Grimsby & Immingham, ran a safety awareness-raising competition for schoolchildren, asking them to design an eye-catching poster to bring attention to the dangers of trespassing at ports. The winners of the competition have now been named and ABP was delighted to present the winning pupil, 11-year old Daniel Pattison from Humberston Church of England School, with a cheque for £50, while the school itself received £300 and the winning poster in a frame.
The competition comes during the third consecutive summer that ABP has run a safety-awareness campaign to educate local children about the dangers of trespassing on its port estates. Last year, the Company, which owns and operates 21 ports around the UK, released a series of posters and leaflets warning that “the port is not a playground.” The campaign, which was backed by the British Safety Council, IOSH (Institute of Occupational Safety and Health) and RoSPA (Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents), was extremely successful. This year, however, ABP wanted to engage more closely with local schoolchildren.
Steve Giblin, ABP’s Safety Manager, explains: “We decided that the best way to inspire youngsters would be to really fire up their imaginations and get them to think for themselves why it would be hazardous for them to trespass on our ports. This seemed like a fun, yet effective, way of getting our highly important message across.”
As well as the posters designed by the schoolchildren themselves, ABP is supplying schools with its own posters to reinforce its message. While previous years have concentrated on the dangers of swimming in the docks or playing near port machinery, the 2007 campaign focuses on the perils of trespassing on the rail-freight lines that connect ABP’s ports to the national rail network. Two sets of posters have been designed, one using ‘Manga-style’ cartoons for younger children, and one featuring hard-hitting imagery more suitable for older children.
Ian Schofield, ABP’s Engineering & Safety Director, said: “Safety is our primary concern. We work tirelessly to ensure the working environment at our ports is as safe as possible, but we also recognise our responsibility to the local community. Some children will always try and be daredevils, so our message is simple: if you trespass at our ports, you could end up dead. The port is not a playground.”
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