May Morning revellers ignored police warnings and jumped off Magdalen Bridge last Saturday, as part of traditional May Day festivities.
It is thought that about 100 people jumped from the bridge after it had been re-opened by the police at 6am. Some had already broken through the safety barriers.
The police had blocked off the bridge at 5am, after about 8,000 people crowded onto it. On the city side, the High Street had been blocked off at the junction with Merton Street.
One student, after jumping from the bridge, said, “It was fun; it was cold, but definitely worth it.”
As well as students, some tourists also decided to make the jump.
Speaking to Cherwell after leaping from the bridge, one Swiss visitor named Laura said, “It was amazing! Amazing! I want to do another dive! I want to do it another time!” Asked whether the experience had changed her life, Laura replied “Maybe, maybe, yes.”
However police were not so impressed with the behaviour of the May Day revellers.
Superintendent Amanda Pearson from the Thames Valley Police said, “I’m disappointed that a few individuals risked their own safety by jumping into the river and it is more by luck than judgement that they were not injured.
“They’ve put themselves and others at risk”, she said.
Paul Cooke, the Lead Operation Manager for the Oxfordshire Ambulance service, said “We’ve been very, very pleased with the outcome of May Day in relation to minor injuries. Fortunately, there were no injuries related to any of the jumpers.”
There have been efforts to stop people jumping off the bridge since 2005, when 40 people ended up in hospital after falling 25ft into 18 inches of water, and there were a number of serious injuries.
The County Council estimated the cost to the health service of those accidents was £50,000.
An innovative solution to the problem of jump-sustained injuries has been suggested by an Oxford writer and illustrator, Ted Dewan.
Dewan has suggested giant inflatable aeroplane-style slides should be fixed to the bridge for the morning, and the idea has been backed by the Green Party City Councillor for Iffley Fields, David Williams.
“The idea has got some merit. I would suggest it’s an idea they should try once, just to see if it works,” he said.
Proposals for giant inflatable water slides proved very popular among students when they were raised at recent consultations.
Currently, the slides have not been approved and there are plans to block Magdalen Bridge with barriers on May Day morning again next year, despite the inconvenience caused. When barriers were introduced in 2006, it was decided that the policy would be reviewed after 2011.
But not everyone opted for the traditional way of welcoming the May Day daw.
A third-year Classics student said, “My friends and I decided to go down to Port Meadow on May Day. There were absolutely loads of students there and a big bonfire. It’s a much better atmosphere than at Magdalen Bridge: no police erecting barriers, and it’s a lot more fun.”
