A company that owns land in Nottinghamshire has seen an increase in the number of people that are trespassing and swimming in their quarry lakes to keep cool, and describes it as "exceptionally dangerous". CEMEX, a materials provider, owns land at Attenborough Lakes by the nature reserve, but has seen a rise in people breaking into their site to go swimming and taking vital lifebuoys in the process.
Quarry lakes are lakes that are formed after a quarry has been dug through during a mining operation. According to CEMEX, these can include bits of machinery and strong currents that people might not know about, and cause problems.
Swimming in quarry lakes is said to be more dangerous than open-water swimming because of this, as the number of issues people could face are much higher. A security official at CEMEX has explained why.
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John Sweeting, who works in the security and investigations office at CEMEX, said: "Swimming in quarry lakes is exceptionally dangerous, as there are so many dangers such as bits of machinery being in there, strong currents, the water depth being unknown and of course the sudden change in temperature. People have been trespassing by breaking through our barriers and taking lifebuoys that could save someone's life.
"We've got a site that we secure to the best of our ability, but people also need to respect the fact that it's private property. We are concerned someone might come to harm and there are warnings and signage out there, but we're also worried people have been taking things like lifebuoys.
"We're having to monitor the situation and makes repairs regularly. We're expecting even more of an increase, especially as it's due to get hotter, and we'd say to people that you're putting yourself and others at serious risk if you do this, things could spiral very quickly."
Inspector Mike Ebbins, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "It is understandable that on hot days, the open water may look tempting. The truth is it is surprisingly cold and this alone can lead people to experience medical emergencies or cause them to cramp up and immediately get into difficulties.
"It's worth remembering that if things do go wrong there may not be anyone close to come to your aid until it is too late. I would ask parents to share these messages with their children and to avoid the temptation of entering the water themselves."
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