A VOLUNTARY river rescue organisation which has been prevented in assisting the emergency services due to health and safety issues say they could have provided expert help at last week’s Evesham river tragedy.

Gabby Grady, aged five, was trapped in a car driven into the river Avon at Hampton Ferry on Thursday and was under water for two hours before being rescued by Avon and Somerset Police’s dive team.

She died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on Sunday.

West Mercia Police does not have its own dive team and asked for help from neighbouring forces at 9.30am.

It took 40 minutes to establish that the Avon and Somerset team was the nearest, in Tewkesbury, and 56 minutes for the team to pack up, drive to Evesham on blue lights and rescue the youngster from the river.

We reported in your Worcester News last year how police had stopped using Mercia Inshore Search and Rescue (MISAR), based at Upton-upon-Severn Marina – about 15 miles from Hampton Ferry.

Dave Walker, chairman of MISAR, said they work in tandem with the Malvern Archaeological Diving Unit (MADU).

Police have said they will not use MADU divers as they are not accredited by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Mr Walker said his team and MADU would have arrived at the scene within 30 minutes of being called.

He said: “We have got a team that can be used and should be used which sadly isn’t at the moment.”

Mr Walker has disagreed with Assistant Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, who said there was a “15-minute window” to successfully rescue someone from the water.

Mr Walker said there was evidence that people have been successfully rescued from under water up to 66 minutes after going in.

He said: “That was in Florida, in warm water. In Evesham, the girl was very young and the water freezing cold, which stacked the odds in favour of a successful rescue.

We would have provided the right boats with the right equipment and the surface expertise to assist the MADU divers.”

Mr Chesterman said even if West Mercia had their own dive team, there was no guarantee they could have assisted any quicker than the Avon and Somerset divers.

He said: “Police dive teams are not underwater search units. Their role is to search for weapons, property and sadly, on occasions, deceased people.

“During this incident clearly people were desperate to get to the car.

“It is important to recognise the two officers that entered the water, against advice, which was extremely brave.

"They did their best under very difficult circumstances and it’s just terrible and tragic they didn’t manage to save Gabby.

"The two officers who entered the water are deeply traumatised by the whole incident.

“Other people may say more could have been done and I am not saying they are wrong. If we could have got trained divers there quicker maybe there was more we could have done.

“The police aren’t saying MISAR can’t operate during water rescues. It is the HSE rules and regulations which say they can’t.

“We are happy to sit down with any organisation who may be able to help in these situations and listen to what they have to say.”