Five people have had to be rescued from the water after being caught out when a torrent of water is unleashed by weir gates opening.

Kent Fire and Rescue Service has issued a warning to people not to swim or paddle in a stretch of the River Medway, near The Lees car park and the Teapot Island attraction after being scrambled to the site yesterday.

Specialist water rescue teams said the five did not suffer any serious injuries, but issued a plea which read: "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE keep yourselves and your children OUT of the water near #Yalding sluice gates @kentfirerescue Specialist Water Rescue teams have responded to two incidents involving 5 casualties due to the opening of the sluice gates!"

The warning comes as temperatures rise and people look for ways of cooling off. But the latest incidents have happened a year after similar messages were issued, following several drowning near misses.

The village weir often attracts visitors who like to paddle in the shallow river between the sluice gates and the bridge.

But the ankle-deep water can quickly change into a swirling mass when the automatic sluice gates open without warning.

Speaking last year Geraldine Brown, Yalding Parish Council chairman, said: “When the water comes down it can sweep the kids away."

The fire service also said people were ignoring several signs warning of the dangers, while the Environment Agency installed a security gate by the weir pool and fitted extra rails to fill in gaps in the fencing.

Yalding Parish Council also put up fences and signs at the slipway on the Lees car park.