Perthshire Advertiser, Friday 6th March, 2009

 A CAMPAIGN aimed at preventing alcohol-related drowning tragedies in Perth is amongs 200 projects sharing a £1.3 million Lottery grant windfall.

The Safe-Tay "Don't Drink and Drown" campaign warns against the dangers of drinking in the vicinity of Big Country rivers, including the River Tay.

Yestarda's £3700 Awards for All grant will enable the group, in association with Perth College students, to get their message across to an even wider audience.

They plan to create and distribute 40,000 promotional beer mats, 200 posters and 2,000 specially -designed car parking tickets which will be distributed from a designgnated parking machine.

 In August last year new alarmed life-saving equipment, linked to Perth's CCTV network, was installed on Tay Street.

It was spurred by a joint partnership between Perth and Kinross Council, Safe-Tay, Tayside Police and Tayside Fire and Rescue.

Safe-Tay was set up by Perth woman Lisa Stuart after the tragic death of her musician brother Graham Motion, in the River tay three years ago.

Lisa played a key role in organising a series of fundrasing ventures to generate cash.

At last summer's unveiling, she said: "Now that this equipment is in place, Safe-Tay hopes that life-saving equipment will be protected from being vandalised - and used in emergencies only.

"In the past we have heard of many incidence of lifebelts being vandalised and the throwlines being found in the river.

"We hope the sysyem will act as a deterrent to those who choose to commit such a mindless and irresponsible act."

That initiative followed hard on the heels of Perth Colleg's "Don't Drink and Drown" initiative.