The fact his fiancé (who will have more knowledge of the circumstances than any of us) is petitioning for a fence around this river is telling. Too many people conspiring when in fact this was more than likely a tragic accident which she is now petitioning to avoid in the future. I was also shocked to read how many others had lost their lives in this river, a few people have commented under the petition giving details of loved ones lost there.
I've also read the comments under the petition and could only see one comment from someone who lost a loved one 'in this river', though I read several from people who had lost friends or family members in drink/water accidents generally, presumably elsewhere.
There's a more balanced, locally based discussion under the link to the petition on the Lewes Presemt facebook group.
I've searched in vain for stats showing how many people have accidentally drowned in the Lewes stretch of the Ouse and would be really interested if anyone else can find them.
On a more general note, and I mean absolutely no disrespect to Anthony Knott's loved ones, when someone dies in an accident, it's completely natural for those left behind to feel that 'something must be done' to help them feel that a life that was so important to them was not lost in vain.
Similarly, if there's any suggestion that entering the water was a deliberate act, there's an understandable tendency to dismiss the idea, as they may feel some almost certainly misplaced guilt that they weren't aware of the state of mind of the deceased and should have done more to help.