“Don't put yourself at risk to get a picture”.
That was the warning today from Yorkshire Water after concerns that during the extreme wet weather, enthusiastic amateur photographers and film makers are putting themselves at serious risk of injury as they go in search of spectacular shots of reservoirs overflowing.
It has led to the company warning people to stick to the designated footpaths when visiting its reservoirs.
The warning has been issued in response to an unknown person putting themselves in danger in order to film dramatic footage of Ryburn reservoir, near Ripponden,
overflowing during the recent heavy rain.
A company spokesman said: “We heard the photographer who obviously wanted to get the best shot but went too close.
“The safety railings are there for a reason.
“When our reservoirs are as full as they are at the moment, there is an obvious danger.
“The reservoirs and waterways are beautiful and we want people to visit. We cannot have staff on duty all the time so it is a message for people to think of their own safety”.
The company’s Raw Water Reservoir Manager, Darren Lynch, said there had been several recent incidents where people had strayed into operational areas that are off-limits to the general public.
“We understand that our reservoirs can look quite spectacular when they are overflowing but it’s really important that people stick to designated footpaths if they want to watch them or capture them on camera.
“December was the wettest on record and the ground around our reservoirs is saturated, which means there is much greater risk of the land being slippery or unstable, so people need to exercise extreme care and stick to proper, way-marked footpaths.
“By straying onto adjacent operational land they are putting themselves, and those Yorkshire Water colleagues who have to advise them to leave, in grave danger,” Darren added.
Yorkshire Water owns 137 reservoirs in North, West and South Yorkshire that are visited by an estimated one million people every year.
Many of them are in the stunning Pennine moors around Huddersfield.
