VALE youngsters have been warned they are risking their lives by playing in quarries.

Teenage motorcyclists are particularly being warned during a Summer bliz to make sure that several quarries in the Vale area are not sites of tragedies.

The warning comes from Quarry Products Association, the trade association for quarries at Aston Mill in Bredon, Lower Moor Gravel Pit in Pershore and Manor Farm in Evesham, which is pleading to children to stay away from quarries and marine wharves during the school holidays.

Elizabeth Clements of Quarry Products Association, said: "Our members do all they can to deter children but their warnings are too often ignored. Warning signs and fences are broken down - often by adults rather than by the children who may ultimately suffer the consequences.

"They may look like a fun environment, but quarries and wharves have hidden dangers.

"Lakes may look like great places to swim, but they are often deep and dangerously cold. Piles of sand appear wonderful opportunities for tunnelling, but children have been buried when their 'caves' collapsed.

"There are also obvious dangers in playing around heavy plant and machinery and in falling or being hit by rocks. Teenage motorcyclists are a particular problem in many areas. The quarry terrain looks ideal, but again, there are hazards that may not be obvious."

She added that the association welcomed organised school parties where children could see around the quarries while remaining safe.

She also said that schools could obtain an information pack on the dangers of playing in quarries, which is available by contacting then association on 0207 730 8194.

17-year-old Yunus Moolla, drowned in a lake at Gullet Quarry in Castlemorton, last July, just weeks after the quarry's director warned of the dangers of swimming in the quarry.