The disused lock used to connect the
Royal Arsenal Canal, now called Broadwater, with the River Thames. The lock is
long and narrow and has very high sides - a fact that contributed to Mr Pitt's
death.
The Daily Mail's website, Mail Online
[visit
link], tells of the accident and of the efforts made to get a plaque placed
in Postman's Park:
"Hero dies in canal saving boy, 9,
from drowning
A hero died after jumping into a
canal to save a drowning boy - but his devastated fiancee says his death was
'needless' after calls for improved safety were allegedly
ignored.
Printworker Leigh Pitt, 30,
sacrificed his life going to the rescue of nine-year-old Harley Bagnall-Taylor
who fell into the deep water while playing outside his home.
The walls of the historic canal in
Thamesmead, South-East London, are 15ft high and there is no way to climb
out.
Residents say they were told several
years ago it would be filled in or extra safety measures would be introduced but
nothing was ever done.
Mr Pitt was in his flat which
overlooks the canal, called Broadwater Dock, when he heard the youngster's
screams and saw him struggling last Thursday.
He jumped in and kept the boy above
the water while other residents - Brian Mahoney, his son Daniel and neighbour
Martin Hills - threw a hosepipe to Harley.
They managed to drag Harley out but
when they went to help Leigh, he had disappeared under the
water.
Leigh's fiancee, who has asked not
to be named, wept as she said: "I am so angry because Leigh should still be
here. He was only 30 years old. His death was needless.
"Leigh didn't have a chance of
swimming to safety with the boy and there was no way he could pull himself out
of the water because there is nothing to grab on to."
She added: "Leigh would not have
given it a second's thought before jumping in there to save him. It was the kind
of selfless thing he would do and was the reason I loved him so much. He was a
hero."
Police Constable Ken Chow, 28, was
the first of the emergency services to arrive at the scene. He said: "The boy
had been rescued but I was told a man was still in there.
"I jumped in but couldn't see
anything. Then I saw the top of a man's head below the water.
"I dived down and was able to pull
him up for a short while but I could not tread water with him.
"There was nothing to hold on to and
nowhere to go in the canal. I had to let go of him. He drifted away. It was
awful."
Harley's father Darren Taylor, 37,
paid tribute to Mr Pitt.
He said: "What that man did was
unbelievable - he saved my son's life. We are so grateful."
Built by Napoleonic prisoners of
war, the canal lies within the London Borough of Greenwich but is the
responsibility of property development and investment company Tilfen Land, which
has been redeveloping the area.
Residents say they have been
campaigning for better safety for 15 years. Brian Mahoney, who helped rescue the
boy, said: "We were told it would be filled in and replaced with parkland. Then
they said safety would be improved.
"If there had even been a hand rail
Leigh would still be alive today."
A spokesman for Tilfen Land said:
"The site is securely fenced and clearly signposted with 'Danger - Deep Water'
warnings.""
A local newspaper's website [visit
link] included an article at the time:
"LEIGH Pitt drowned after jumping
into a canal in a bid to save a nine-year-old-boy who had fallen
in.
Firefighters and police were called
to the canal in Whinchat Road, Thamesmead, at 5.20pm on June 7 after reports of
a man and child being in the water.
London Ambulance Service pulled Mr
Pitt from the water but he was pronounced dead at Lewisham Hospital at 6.42pm
that day.
The boy, Harley Bagnall-Taylor, of
Whinchat Road, was taken to hospital, believed to be suffering from
hypothermia.
He has since been
released."
Visit Waymark WMCE72
to read about the memorial.