A TEENAGER dramatically rescued from an Accrington quarry has warned other youngsters to 'play safe' to avoid suffering her plight.

Kirsty Barras, 13, was with seven friends when the group decided to go for a walk to find new places to play.

Their jaunt almost ended in disaster when Kirsty, a pupil at Ivy Bank Business and Technology College, Burnley, became stuck and sank up to her waist in a mud pool at Rakeshead Quarry, off Burnley Road, Accrington.

Now she has appealed to other youngsters to learn from her mistake, and avoid quarries - echoing a campaign run by the Quarry Products Association which represents the industry.

The operation to rescue Kirsty began when a passer-by alerted emergency services. Police rushed to the scene and tied belts together to make a rope to prevent her from sinking further.

She was eventually rescued by firefighters using ladders and taken to hospital for a check-up.

Kirsty, of Lancaster Drive, Padiham, today thanked her rescuers and said: "I would say to any other children who are thinking of going to places they don't know that they shouldn't do it. They might never come back.

"We didn't see any signs about it being dangerous and I thought the ground was solid but then I just got stuck and was sinking really quickly. I thought I would never get out.

"I wish we hadn't gone so far and I would never do it again."

Kirsty also spoke of the terrifying moment she became trapped. She said: "We were just messing around and I needed to find a short cut home. It looked like hard ground so I started to walk across and my foot started sinking and someone shouted to get out and it covered my waist very quickly. I didn't think I was going to get out.

"A passer-by came over and told me to lie down but my leg was twisted so I couldn't. The police tried to get me out and then the firefighters arrived. I was really shocked."

Her mum Tracey, 40, backed her daughter's appeal and said: "I can't believe Kirsty went so far away because she usually won't go off the estate.

"I would usually send her to the swimming pool if she really wanted to get out. I hope other children can learn from this how dangerous it can be to wander off like that when nobody knows where you are."

The Quarry Products Association is running a national Play Safe and Stay Safe campaign to highlight the dangers of playing in quarries.

Spokesman Elizabeth Clements said: "Warm weather and school holidays are the danger times."