Young men who climbed Huddersfield’s towering gasholder have been told: You could have been killed.

Gas company chiefs are concerned that the structure in Gasworks Street has been targeted by so-called “urban climbers.”

They are usually young men who climb man-made structures – often late at night as their actions are illegal.

But their actions have been condemned.

A Northern Gas Network spokesman said: “It is extremely dangerous to climb on any gas equipment and could have potentially fatal consequences.

“We strongly advise members of the public not to put their lives at risk by climbing these structures.

“Not only is it dangerous, but it is also illegal to trespass on privately-owned land.

“We take the security of our sites extremely seriously and will be conducting an investigation to find out how access was gained to the gas holder on Gasworks Street.”

The urban climbers often post photographs on websites showing off their exploits.

And those who scaled the gasholder in Huddersfield have done just that.

The website entry has been posted by three climbers nicknamed fishbrain, millhouse and tweek.

On the website they have posted photographs taken from the top of the gasholder at night.

One of the climbers said: “It’s well maintained, if a little rusty, and provided a nice little climb, even if the views of east Huddersfield were a little lacking.

“It took an age to scale. We were all tired though, it was late, very windy and decidedly cold but it was well worth it.”

Northern Gas Networks own the structure. It is the town’s one remaining gas holder and is maintained to ensure gas supplies never run short.

The 127ft giant stores gas and helps meet the enormous peaks in demand that occur in winter.

A spokesman said: “In winter there can be as much as five times the amount of gas flowing through the mains than in summer. When everyone wakes up in the morning or gets home from school or work, demand can be so high that we need to have some extra gas stored in case we need it.

“That’s where the gas holders are so important. We fill them up overnight, when there’s gas to spare, and they empty during the day when demand is higher.”

The holder was originally built in 1916 by W C Holmes and then rebuilt by Clayton & Co in 1968.

It is column guided and holds nearly five million cubic feet of gas (or 127,000 cubic metres).

There were originally five gas holders at Huddersfield, which have been demolished over the years as more gas becomes stored in underground pipelines.

Gas production ceased in the town in the late 1960s.