Star 'keepers aim to save kids from quarry dangers

SOME of the country's safest hands are supporting an initiative to raise awareness among children and young people of the dangers of playing in quarries.

Goalkeepers from the Barclay's Premier League are getting behind the Stay Safe campaign which was launched by the Minerals Products Association (MPA) last week.

The school summer holidays are fast approaching and the organisation hopes the campaign will deter teenagers from using quarries as playgrounds — including the site at Westleigh, near Tiverton, run by Bardon Aggregates.

David James, Portsmouth Football Club and England stopper, who lives at Chagford in Devon, said: "Quarries are places for work, not play, and they can hold hidden dangers if you go there unsupervised.

"Quarry lakes are often very cold as well as a deep and have currents that can drag you under the water in seconds. Piles of sand look good for tunnelling but if it collapses you can be buried. Sheer quarry faces are obviously very dangerous if you fall — or if the rocks fall on you.

"Please stay safe this summer and stay out of quarries. Use a local swimming pool, leisure centre or recreation ground instead."

Hull's Boaz Myhill, Wigan's Chris Kirkland and Bolton Wanderers' Jussi Jaaskelainen complete the team the MPA hopes will keep a clean sheet in terms of deaths and injuries among young people.

The importance of the campaign was highlighted when 18-year-old Jay Harris fell to his death at a disused quarry near Nuneaton in Warwickshire last month. Two of his friends who tried to rescue him were also treated for the early stages of hypothermia.

Lynda Chase-Gardener, chairman of the MPA, said: "The case of Jay is a tragic example of why every year we appeal to young people, and to the parents and teachers who influence them, to heed the warning that quarries are not places for fun.

"Our industry has worked extremely hard to deter trespassers by fencing off quarries, erecting warning signs and working with schools and youth groups to educate young people about the hazards."

A survey carried out this year among quarry managers showed that nearly 56 per cent of respondents across the South West had experienced problems with trespassers over the past 12 months. It also revealed that, while teenage trespassers were of the most concern, it was adults who were the worst offenders.

Mrs Chase-Gardener added: "Very often it is adults who cut holes in fences which young people enter. This is not only illegal but highly irresponsible and dangerous.

"We have launched a poster campaign featuring some of the Premier League's safest hands and would ask those who are thinking of entering a quarry to follow the message, 'Stay safe and stay out'."