CHILDREN risked their lives by jumping into canal locks just hours after a 17-year-old drowned in a Lancashire reservoir.

Teenage boys scaled gates and bridges to dive up to 30 feet into the icy water at Blackburn Locks yesterday afternoon - ignoring warning signs and plunging into the water just yards from holidaymakers' boats.

Today the man responsible for managing East Lancashire's canal locks said children as young as six had been playing in the water and using oil drums to stay afloat.

Paul Jeffries said the area was beset by problems and warned: "Somebody is going to drown unless we can stop incidents like this from occurring."

Inspector Steve Haworth from Blackburn Police, said: "It is horribly, horribly dangerous and people are taking dreadful chances.

"We do not want people wasting their lives.

"The message needs to get out for people to stay away."

The boys, stripped to shorts or tracksuit bottoms, spent at least 20 minutes diving into the water while passers-by looked on yesterday -- the day after a 17-year-old drowned while swimming with friends in the icy waters of the Blue Lagoon reservoir, Belmont, near Blackburn.

"They only moved on when a police patrol appeared.

One 15 year-old, who scaled a concrete arch on the top of a nearby bridge before diving into the water, admitted he had heard about Sunday's tragedy but simply shrugged and said: "I'm not bothered. It's right."

Another youngster, who was only 14, said: "It is OK.

"This isn't a reservoir. We are safer here. "

One passerby, who didn't want to be named, said: "It is craziness.

"Every time there is a bit of sunshine they are out.

"But they don't know how deep the water is or what is in there."

Police said the youngsters were not committing a criminal offence but were breaching by-laws by ignoring warning signs.

Mr Jeffries, who manages a 36-mile stretch of the canal from Altham to Wigan for British Waterways, said teenagers, some with alcohol, were swimming close to the locks in the Infirmary area all day on Sunday and until early evening yesterday.

He said: "I asked some of the youngsters who were down here yesterday how old they were and they

ranged from about six-years-old to 18.

"They were jumping from the bridges in front of locks and one was using an oil drum as a life aid.

"The water is very cold and has very powerful currents.

"No matter how strong the swimmer is if they get caught where a lock is being emptied the water will hold them down.

"Some of them also had beer and alcohol and cold water certainly don't go together.

"There are all sorts of dangerous objects under the water, like shopping trolleys and weeds that they could easily become entangled in.

"I am in constant touch with the police to alert them whenever they start swimming in the canal. I don't know when it will happen but somebody is going to drown unless we can stop incidents like this from occurring."

Nigel Brooke, the Police's Community Support Officer for the Infirmary area, said: "Every time we get two or three days of warm weather they start swimming in the canal off Hall Street. We are very concerned for their safety, it is an accident waiting to happen."

Coun Maureen Bateson, who represents the Ewood ward, said: "We have this problem every summer despite the messages given out in schools and by community associations. Swimming in canals is very dnagerous but children are always going to do it so parents also need to take responsibilty and make sure their children are not swimming in the canal.

"The council runs all kinds of programmes to keep youngsters occupied during the summer holidays so there is no reason for this to happen."

Blackburn with Darwen Council run a scheme for under 16s called the Beez card, which entitles them to take part in free swimming sessions at local pools once a registration fee of £3.50 has been paid.