AT the risk of appearing a summer spoilsport, can I appeal to parents to ensure that their children do not make local quarries a place for play.
Quarries can look like fun places to swim, climb, dig or ride, but they carry a variety of unseen hazards. In June this year, a 14-year-old girl broke her arm and leg after falling more than 50 feet onto a quarry ledge in the West Midlands, and at a quarry in Lancashire a 13-year old girl became stuck waist-deep in a muddy pool.
Fortunately, both these teenagers survived. Sadly, there have been a number of incidents in which youngsters have not been so lucky. Children have drowned in deep cold lakes, been buried while digging a cave in the sand, or been seriously hurt when struck by a falling rock. There is also a problem with motorcyclists.
Our member companies do all they can to deter children, but warning notices are ignored and fences are broken down -- often by irresponsible adults.
Full details of our "Play Safe . . . Stay Safe" campaign, including resources for teachers, can be viewed at www.qpa.org
ELIZABETH CLEMENTS,
Quarry Products Association.
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