MORE than 100 people attended a memorial rally for Ponteland teenager Charlie Pope on Sunday.

Family and friends travelled from Ponteland to Manchester to remember 19-year-old Charlie and others who have lost their lives after ending up in waterways in the past.

A minute’s silence was held in Albert Square as part of the #MakeCharlieTheLast rally before the group walked to Rochdale Canal, where Charlie’s body was recovered on March 2.

Charlie’s father, Nick Pope, urged campaigners to keep plugging away at the authorities for safety measures around canals.

Speaking at the rally, he said: “We won’t give up. Not until it’s made safe. We have had some successes and things have started to turn. Let’s keep the pressure on.”

A petition calling for better safety around canals has nearly 55,000 signatures. Alona Ainsworth, from Salford, began her campaign after Charlie’s body was recovered.

She said: “It shook our community here in Manchester to know that this young man, who had his whole life ahead of him, had lost his life to something that could easily have been prevented if there were barriers in place.”

Manchester City Council is working with the Canal and Rivers trust to complete a full safety review of all the canal systems following Charlie’s death.

A Canal and Rivers Trust spokesperson, said: “While reviewing what had happened, it was identified that a greater number of people were now using the lock gates at Lock 89 as a crossing point.”

“As part of the Partnership we have been running an awareness campaign about water safety along the canal and have recently held training for bar and door staff on water safety which will continue.

“Barriers have been installed adjacent to the Lock to direct people to the nearby footbridge rather than using the lock itself to cross the canal.

“Fencing off the canals may seem like a simple solution, but in practice we have to consider the need to provide access to the water for those using the water and access to help anyone who might get into difficulty.

“We will continue to work with others to regularly review the safety provisions alongside the canal.”