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A bereaved daughter believes a newly installed life ring could have saved her father’s life if one had been available when he needed it.
Lisa Rogers, 34, welcomed the new safety measure at Kingsdown Rifle Range following the death of her dad Nick Warren at the site in November 2015.
The 57-year-old, of West Hougham, had been walking his Labrador puppy, Maisy, when she jumped over the broken sea wall into the water.
Lisa Rogers welcomes the life ring installed where her father died
He followed her in but neither were able to climb out.
His daughter described the life ring as a “good step” towards making the Ministry of Defence-owned area safer because it may buy more time for casualties in the water.
Ms Rogers, who is from Dover last week revisited the site on the corner of Oldstairs Road and Undercliffe Road.
She was pregnant with her twin daughters Eden and Willow at the time of the tragedy.
She said: “Had this been here three-and-a-half years ago, Who knows what the situation would have been?
“At the time when my dad had his accident, they were tying (dog) leads together which broke on the rocks.
“They were really sharp, the weather was really bad, the waves were bashing against the rocks.
“Had something like this been in place at the time, it could have been a completely different outcome.
“He would have been able to stay above the water, he wouldn’t have been fighting against the tide and it would have given the RNLI a little more time to get out here.”
The details of Mr Warren's death were revealed at a five-day inquest in October 2018, where a verdict of misadventure was given.
And although it was ruled that little more could have been done by the emergency services, Mrs Rogers has continued to highlight the dangers of the area after she visited it after her dad's death.
Her pleas prompted Kingsdown Parish Council to push the matter with DDC which has now paid for the buoyancy aid to be fitted before Easter and the busy summer season.
Ms Rogers would now like the MOD to follow their example.
Mrs Rogers visits the scene of her dad's death
She said: “I know that with installing something like this there is the cost of maintenance and liabilities.
“Surely that small cost of having something there to save people’s lives is better than having deaths associated to an area they own.
“This is a good step to making this area a lot safer for everybody. It’s a little bit far from where the dangerous spot is.
“If someone was in danger someone could grab it and take it to the area but that’s still minutes and every second counts when it’s a situation of drowning.
“Especially when it’s cold weather like it was for my dad.”
She would like to see another life ring installed inside the fencing along with bold signs to replace the small, faded signs currently in place.
She continued: “It’s a lovely sun trap, idyllic. It could be misjudged.
“The water looks really inviting, children could probably paddle out, go onto the wall and what they don’t realise is it’s very deep and very dangerous.
“There really needs to be some big red signs, something that really draws your attention.
“I know that a lot of people say they don’t read signs and they’re just going to be there as an eyesore but I think it’s important to warn how dangerous it can be and that deaths have happened here.”
A DDC spokesman said: “Our thoughts remain with the family.
“We can confirm that an additional lifebuoy has been put in as part of a wider review of signage and life-saving equipment in the area.”
Walmer RNLI - the Mercury's charity of the year - whose volunteers assisted in the rescue of Mr Warren have also welcomed the measure.
A spokesman said: "We really support the decision by DDC to install the life ring."
The MOD has been approached for comment.
