Rescue teams have issued a plea to young people in Folkestone not to ‘jump into the unknown’ following a growth in the number of cases of ‘tombstoning’ over the summer.

Tombstoning is a high-risk activity which involves jumping from a high height into water. In this case, teenagers have been jumping off the Harbour Arm into the sea.

Watch the teenagers jumping from the harbour

The dangers come from the unknown surface below the water, especially in areas that are affected by tides, meaning it is hard to tell how deep or shallow any area is before jumping.

Folkestone Rescue says that the Coastguard has logged more than 200 incidents, with 70 injuries and 20 deaths from tombstoning in the UK in recent years, including two young men who were killed in Devon this summer.

The appeal, which also highlighted the dangers of cold shock and underwater currents, went out to parents and adults in the area for assistance, imploring them to keep an eye on their children.

In a Facebook post with a video showing a group of teenagers carrying out the dangerous activity, the rescue team explain that the problem has continued to escalate despite warnings from police, the lifeguard team and the Folkestone Harbour Company.

They said: “The teenagers were all asked repeatedly to stop the activity, as the water was not at high tide and they are risking serious life-changing injury or worse.

“As a parent or adult, if you know your teenager is planning to visit the beach this summer, please can we ask you to remind them of the risk to their own lives and encourage them to stay safe.”

Reception to the appeal has been mixed on social media, with several people arguing that it was both impossible and pointless to tell young people not to do something and expect them to comply.

Folkestone Rescue then clarified: “We’re not trying to stop anyone (especially children) from having fun at the beach, but we are trying to ensure they stay safe by raising awareness of the dangers.

“If our lifeguards ask someone to stop performing an activity, or to move away from a particular area, it is because that person is putting their safety and/or the safety of others at risk.”

This warning comes just weeks after children were warned after tombstoning in Dover.

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