Scuba divers called in for recovery job in popular Sheffield park lake
Rescue work carried out to recover sunken items
This was the scene in Crookes Valley Park today - after scuba divers were called out to work at the site.
The pair in diving gear could be seen entering the water near the old boat house at the side of the lake, before moving out into deeper water.
They disappeared under the surface nearer the middle of the lake, before three inflatables appeared at the surface, several minutes later.
They then returned to the bank, with items which had surfaced where pulled to from the water.
Divers Alan Zajac and Emma Keeley had been called in by Sheffield University’s canoe club, which uses the lake for its sessions.
It is understood that the canoe club had been asked to remove a number of buoys that had sunk into the lake by Sheffield Council’s parks department.
Sheffield University Canoe Club had asked the divers to remove the bouys as they had slid underwater from their orginal spot..
The club explained to The Star they had written permission from Sheffield Council to keep the bouys.
The work was carried out by of members of the university’s sub aqua club, SUSAC.
The divers were able to dig them out and cause them to float to the surface, with other members of the club then pulling the buoys out of the water with a rope.
Crookes Valley Park is a former reservoir, which was later well known as a location for hiring rowing boats in the city.
However, the boat hire ended many years ago and now only the canoe club uses the site for boats.
There are notices warning people against swimming there because of the deep water and cold temparatures
In recent years the banks of the lake have started to fall into disrepair, and Sheffield Council has put barriers around some sections of the lake side to keep people away from the sections which have collapsed.
In 2024, Sheffield Council said it was funding feasibility and survey work to better understand the structural condition of the water body at Crookes Valley Park and to identify ways forward to address the issues.