Don’t take risks with electricity during holidays, pupils are told (From Keighley News)

Don’t take risks with electricity during holidays, pupils are told

11:00am Saturday 28th July 2012 in News

School pupils now on their summer holidays have been told to be aware of the deadly dangers of getting too close to electricity installations.

Northern Powergrid, the electricity distributor which covers Keighley district, said youngsters must resist any temptation to trespass in substations, climb pylons or play near overhead power lines.

The organisation warned that people were killed and seriously injured every year through accidents or deliberate interference with electricity networks.

Paul Norton, head of safety at Northern Powergrid, said: “We all remember the excitement of breaking up from school for the long summer holidays. But it’s absolutely vital that youngsters realise that interfering, accidentally or otherwise, with any part of our network can prove fatal.

“Every year, people die or suffer serious burns by touching cables or equipment that they didn’t realise were live. We would ask that all parents and guardians advise their youngsters of the potential dangers and ask them to stay safe and well away from all electrical hazards.

“We’ve had instances where youngsters themselves have phoned into our contact centre saying they’ve accidentally kicked their football into a substation and can we arrange for our engineers to retrieve it.

“Trying to get the ball back themselves would be extremely dangerous and we would much rather they gave us a call.”