THE owners of the land on which Goit Stock waterfall sits have said they “do what they can” to make the area safe.

They said they cannot restrict public access to the site near Cullingworth and that sometimes it feels like “fighting a losing battle” in urging people to be safe at the waterfall.

It comes following the death of 14-year-old Mohammad Abu Farhan at the end of March. He drowned in the waterfall while visiting the site with friends.

Earlier this month, his family called for action to be taken to raise more awareness of the dangers the waterfall poses and to restrict access, something Shipley MP Philip Davies supported.

The land containing Goit Stock is owned by Harden & Bingley Park Limited, run by Weston-Super-Mare-based Julie Dunham and Paul Davis.

They said they have put-up signs warning of the waterfall's dangers and also said it wouldn’t be possible to ban the public from visiting the site.

They added: “We have put signs up in the past warning people not to swim in the water, which have been vandalised and taken down.

“We have some signs up there now which say ‘no swimming’ and are out of reach to people, so we are doing what we can.

“The problem is there are public footpaths that criss-cross the land, so we can’t restrict public access past the waterfall; we can’t stop people going up there.

“We just ask that people adhere to the signs that are up there and don’t swim in the beck or the waterfall.

“It’s a running waterfall and the plunge pool is quite deep. People also don’t realise how cold the water is, even in the middle of summer.

“It’s very cold and it is very dangerous.

“We try to keep children away from there but sometimes it’s like fighting a losing battle, especially during hot weather.

“The site is well-renowned as an attraction which is why we have the signs up telling people not to swim.

“It’s up on the rockface of the waterfall and is very clear but we just cannot restrict public access.

“We pass our deepest condolences onto the family, what happened was truly awful.”

Abu, from Barkerend, had been at Goit Stock with friends on March 30 when he entered the water and got into difficulty.

The emergency services were called but could not save him, and his body was recovered some time later.

Mr Davies called for more warning signs to be put up at the site making it clear the danger that the body of water poses, and said people should be warned away from the site.