Nottinghamshire residents say they are living in a "nightmare" as hundreds of people block the roads to illegally swim in private lakes. Long Eaton is home to a series of lakes, but residents are concerned that the countryside area is becoming a hotspot for illegal and dangerous open water swimming.
The lakes being targeted by swimmers are owned by CEMEX UK. John Sweeting, Security Investigator for CEMEX UK, said: "We are disappointed that despite extensive media coverage about the dangers of swimming in quarry lakes, and our own pleas regarding Attenborough Lakes, people continue to trespass onto our privately-owned and leased land and are also disturbing local residents as they do so.
"We would like to reiterate that quarry lakes are incredibly dangerous and not suitable for swimming, they present a real risk of cold water shock, unknown water depth, plus the possibility of unknown hazards and other debris beneath the water level. This site is not open to the public, please stay away."
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Many residents in the area feel that the opening of Spring Lakes Watersports and Leisure Centre has encouraged people to the area by bringing attention to the other lakes. People visiting the lakes are parking on a single track road, Pasture Lane, and blocking the roads so they can illegally entering the quarry lakes for open water swimming.
One Long Eaton resident, who did not wish to be named, said: "Since they (Spring Lakes) have opened up its attracted attention to all the other lakes, and it's been progressively getting worse. The emergency services wouldn't have a chance of getting down there."
Another resident in the area who did not wish to be named said: "It's generally youngsters, teenagers and those in their early twenties, that descend on Pasture Lane and then they go open water swimming in the quarry.
"It's horrendous, they spend the whole day there like it's Skegness beach. They are having bonfires, barbecues, unlawful swimming and it's the litter as well.
"They leave a right mess, which affects the wildlife." He added that during a normal day a journey from his home to the dual carriageway would take him about six minutes, but when the weather is warm and there are hundreds of cars, it can quadruple his journey time.
He said: "It was like driving through a football match turning out. We're in the middle of the countryside here but it's like we're in Benidorm. We're like prisoners in our homes."
General manager at Spring Lakes, Steven Barnett, said: "The problems that were faced on Pasture Lane over the past few days are the results of people accessing a disused quarry on the other side of the road from our facility.
"Open water swimming has grown in popularity exponentially over the last couple of years, this combined with the extraordinary weather over the last few days resulted in hundreds of people heading for the nearest unguarded place to cool off. The owners of the lake, CEMEX have gone to considerable lengths to secure this site to minimize the risks to the public but to no avail, with multiple fatalities over the last few weeks this really is cause for concern, indeed one of our members had to do a rescue in Cemex Lake during this period."
Stephen continued: "Our site is run through our online booking system and our numbers are carefully planned and regulated weeks in advance to ensure not only that we have the correct numbers of lifeguards on site but also to ensure our local infrastructure can cope. On the days in question we were running at 60% capacity, with ample parking room for the Spring Lakes customers.
"Last night (Tuesday, July 19) there were approximately 400 vehicles abandoned on Pasture Lane with the occupants smashing fencing and gaining access to the CEMEX lake. Our staff were subjected to numerous threats and abuse whilst trying to prevent them parking at our facility."
Spring Lakes are working with various groups to provide free practical training to children in the local area to help educate them and save lives.
Local councillor for the area, Councillor Bryn Lewis, went down to the lakes on Monday, July 18 and Tuesday, July 19 and witnessed the problem first-hand. He said: "The fences have clearly been broken and vandalised in a number of areas to gain entry.
"It has been a growing problem since Spring Lakes has been there but it's not the fault of Spring Lakes. As it's a private lake it's not supervised by lifeguards, so there's a real risk that someone could drown down there, especially with the lifebuoys being vandalised.
"I do understand why people want to enjoy the outdoors and the beautiful lake, but the litter, parking and ASB are causing too many problems." He shared his concerns over the parking and explained that if needed, emergency services would not be able to reach the lakes.
Councillor Lewis added: "The parking is a massive issue, we may have to look at putting double yellow lines down there. It's annoying for local residents, but I think there's a real risk that someone is going to drown.
"No one wants to lose a kid and say what could have been done, so I think we need to talk about it before it happens." He added that the litter is "disgraceful" and that there were several large bags collected following the hottest day of the year.
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