A CORONER has joined police and North West Water urging children to avoid taking a dip in ponds, lakes and reservoirs now summer has arrived.

Blackburn Police and North West Water have issued 'No Swimming' warnings in a bid to keep children away from the area's dozens of reservoirs and other waterways.

And Mr Andre Rebello, Coroner for Blackburn, Hyndburn and the Ribble Valley has called for common sense to prevail over summer madness.

Mr Rebello recently returned a verdict of accidental death in the case of Blackburn teenager Jonathan Ashebu, 16, who was a competent swimmer but drowned in Fishmoor Reservoir last July.

Despite the painful lesson to be learned from Jonathan's story, only last weekend police were called to Fishmoor Reservoir to warn off a group of children swimming.

And Mr Rebello told the Citizen: "I can't believe children continue to ignore warnings. In the Jonathan Ashebu inquest I saw the suffering not only on the face of his mother but also on the faces of his friends - and nobody should have to go through that. These tragedies wouldn't happen if children didn't take stupid risks."

In last summer's heatwave onlookers witnessed the crass stupidity of youngsters who diced with death, using the Leeds Liverpool Canal's locks near Blackburn Royal Infirmary as a diving pool. Youths blatantly flouted British Waterways by-laws banning swimming in the canal on health and safety grounds.

Making a fresh appeal to children not to go near the areas dozens of danger spots, Inspector Wayne Howard, of Blackburn Police, said: "Sometimes I believe these kids are on some sort of death wish. In the winter they play on frozen lakes and canals - and come this time of the year it's the reservoirs.

"I know it's a bit of fun for them but it is very dangerous and we cannot warn them of the dangers strongly enough."

That warning was repeated by Peter Birtwistle, North West Water's general manager for water management.

He said: "Reservoirs are highly dangerous. Many slope very steeply at the sides, so that swimmers can soon find themselves out of their depth. And the very cold water can easily lead to cramp.

"There have been a number of accidental drownings and we don't want any more tragedies of this kind."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.