With the current hot weather forecast to continue over the coming week, the Malvern Hills Trust are reminding the public of the dangers of swimming in Gullet Quarry.
This well-known beauty spot is visited by walkers and picnickers but on hot summer days people can be tempted to cool off in the water, despite the many signs that warn of the danger and to keep out.
In the summer of 2013 two young men tragically drowned in the lake at the Gullet Quarry, Castlemorton.
Following these fatalities in 2013 the Trust commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) to produce a report on safety at the Quarry.
Their report contained a number of recommendations for physical safety measures on site. As a result the Trust have erected fencing, installed new signage and planted thorny vegetation to act as a barrier.
Malvern Hills Trust CEO, Duncan Bridges, commented ‘The majority of fatalities at the quarry have been young men and we know that males between the ages of 14 and 25 are the most likely to come and swim.
Each year, the Trust sends letters to local schools to encourage them to raise this topic with their pupils and promote water safety.
Mr Bridges, CEO, added ‘RoSPA feel strongly that this could help to prevent young people from swimming at places like Gullet Quarry and , as a result, could save lives’.
It is against the Malvern Hills byelaws to “bathe in any pond, lake or stream on the Hills where bathing has been prohibited” Any one in breach of this byelaw could face police action.
Malvern Hills Trust staff and police officers will be regularly patrolling the site to ensure that people are staying safe and out of the water.
