You stupid boys
Bridge leap dare could end in serious injuries
Children are putting their lives in danger by jumping from a bridge into the River Medway.
A video has emerged showing six children standing on a bridge 6m above the water at Whatman Park, in Maidstone during this week’s heatwave.
Egged on by around 20 friends on the bank, two of the boys leap into the water to a countdown of 3-2-1 without having a clue what lurks beneath the surface.
The water is between 3m and 4m deep at that spot, between The Gallagher Stadium and Maidstone Grammar School
for Girls, but it is dumped rubbish on the riverbed that could injure or even kill the daredevil jumpers, officials said.
After seeing the video, taken about 2pm on Tuesday, a senior coastguard issued a warning about the dangers.
Nigel Woolley, the service’s senior coastal operations officer for North Kent said: “We are not the fun police, we’re not stopping people having fun.
“But the problem with jumping into rivers and waterways is you have no idea what’s in them. On the bottom could be shopping trolleys, wooden stakes or mud and they may trap you when you jump in and not allow you to go back to the surface.”
He added: “Children just see the water as fun and don’t understand the risks.”
The Environment Agency echoed the concerns.
Philip Munslow, operations manager for upper Medway navigation, added: “Lots of boats use the river, including commercial ones that don’t have the ability to stop suddenly and won’t necessarily see somebody in the water.”
There have been cases of Weil’s disease in the River Medway in the past, a potentially life-threatening infection.
Police said they were not made aware of the incident.