EMERGENCY services have warned about the dangers of swimming in the county’s waterways after staging a mock rescue operation at a flooded quarry.

Police, fire and ambulance crews worked together at the disused Chinnor Cement Works, near Thame, in a practice exercise to remove a ‘patient’ with suspected spinal injuries from the site’s steep-sided banks.

The rescue was filmed and the footage will be shown to local schoolchildren to remind them of the perils of swimming in unsupervised and remote locations.

As the Oxford Mail reported last month, young people had filmed themselves jumping into the former quarry’s deep water and posted the clips on the Internet.

Thames Valley Police Insp Martin Ford, who led the operation, said: “In 2005 there were 435 accidental drownings in the UK and under 15s are one of the highest risk groups.

“Sixty-six per cent of the incidents occur in inland waters, so this is quite a big issue.

"When people get themselves in trouble in locations like Chinnor, it requires the deployment of significant resources, which draws them away from tackling other crimes.

"If we can prevent people entering the water in the first place, we wouldn't have this problem.

“Chinnor is up to 50ft deep and it doesn’t gradually shelve down like a beach. It goes from the edge straight down and quite often there are underwater obstructions that people are unaware of.

“If people have been drinking, the combination of swimming in cold water and alcohol can become a very dangerous cocktail.”

Insp Ford said police had worked with site owner Taylor Wimpey to improve the perimeter fencing at the quarry and bring in security patrols.

Thame fire station watch manager Andy Ford said: “I think the exercise was very useful for all parties.

“It’s always good to go through a joint procedure like that to highlight any minor issues we can improve for the future.

“People don't think about the trouble they could get into. It seems a very appealing place, but the water is very cold and very deep.

“If they get into difficulty, it’s a very remote environment and a rescue is very time-consuming, due to the steep cliffs.

"It's not just a case of turning up and dragging someone out, especially if they have spinal injuries."