Warning over Shropshire quarry swimming Facebook group

This is the Facebook group encouraging youngsters to go swimming in disused quarries in an area of Shropshire.

The Quarry Much Wenlock Facebook page also allows people to post photographs of themselves swimming at the sites. But police today warned that the pools at the quarries along Wenlock Edge and other areas of open water, such as lakes and rivers, could prove deadly.

Officers said even though the cool water may seem tempting during the warm weather, people must stay away.

Police said although the pictures from the Facebook site showed an idyllic blue pool surrounded by greenery, the water, which is incredibly deep, cold and has hidden ledges just beneath the surface, poses a real risk to even strong swimmers.

Constable Stuart Lippitt, local policing officer for the area, said the police were not killjoys but wanted to keep people safe.

Mr Lippitt said it was not just young people police had found swimming in the quarries - he had even come across adults taking their young children and toddlers down for a dip.

Debris

He added: "And it is not just local people, they come from all over Shropshire. We've spoken to people from Telford, Shrewsbury and even Market Drayton who have travelled down for a swim. Water levels in the quarry rise and fall, frequently hiding ledges that could be just inches below the surface.

"Add into that the danger of other debris that could be hidden by the water and you have a real risk of your cooling swim becoming a matter of life or death."

Last year up to 50 youngsters were spotted by police swimming at a pool at Shadwell Quarry in Farley Road, Much Wenlock by a passing Community Support Officer who stopped to warn them of the dangers.

Yesterday a post on the Facebook page sent from West Mercia's Facebook page read: "Please don't go swimming in Wenlock Quarry or jumping from the cliffs into the water no matter how tempting it may seem - it is highly dangerous. Sadly people have died in recent years doing just that, thanks to the cold waters and hidden dangers.

"Police have put out a warning today against taking a dip in open waters - we know all too well the tragic consequences this can have."

Peter Cornall, head of leisure safety at The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Because of the nature of the work carried out at quarries, the top and bottom rock faces can be very unstable."

By Crime Correspondent Kirsty Smallman