Sunday, 29 July 2018

‘Hundreds risk lives swimming in AI quarry’

In warm weather, water attracts young people.

It’s a problem for Aggregate Industries, particularly at a quarry in Leighton Buzzard where the company has reported 'a huge increase in children trespassing' during the hot weather. Round-the-clock security patrols are now in place at a cost of £3,000 a week. The company has apparently visited local schools to tell children about the dangers – hoping this will deter them from entering the site.



According to general manager Tom Wise 'this was not the first time problems had happened'.
The big issue is its an uncontrolled body of water so if children or anyone was to enter it there are no lifeguards there are no trained people its not as if you are going to the beach or the swimming pool, you don't know what is in there below you.
It’s another dangerous risk the quarry industry brings to local communities. Over the last few weeks:
Unfortunately, nothing changes. Back in 2014, we posted Another tragic drowning in a quarry:
It’s the same every year - people, often children and teenagers, drown in disused and active quarries all over the UK. Every year there are safety campaigns. Every year there are deaths.
Mineral companies are proud of their contribution to the economy and the built environment. Increasingly, they ‘greenwash’ their activities by promoting their contribution to the natural environment too. But drownings at quarries damage the industry's image, arguably more than anything else.
The industry can blame the victims for not reading or heeding the warning signs, for not having more common sense. But more often than not, the victims are just children looking for an adventure, looking to have a good time with friends in the sun.
The industry has to do more. It has left a legacy of deep, cold, water-filled pits littering the country - a trail of potential danger.
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