THE dangers of swimming in the Gullet Quarry lake have been highlighted as summer approaches and the temperature starts to rise.

The chief executive of the Malvern Hills Trust - formerly the Conservators - has sent letters to local schools, urging them to warn pupils about the dangers of entering the lake, off Castlemorton Common.

A number of people have been killed while swimming in the lake over the years, most recently two young men who died in separate incidents in the summer of 2013.

The trust's chief executive, Duncan Bridges, said: "The majority of fatalities at the quarry have been young men and we know that males between the ages of 14 and 25 are the most likely to come and swim."

As a result, the trust has sent out letters to schools, encouraging them to raise the topic with their pupils and promote water safety.

Since the 2013 deaths, the trust commissioned the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to produce a report on safety at the quarry, a beauty spot popular with visitors in warm weather.

"RoSPA feel strongly that these letters could help to prevent young people from swimming at places like Gullet Quarry and , as a result, could save lives," said Mr Bridges..

The RoSPA report also contained a number of recommendations for safety measures at the quarry itself, and as a result the trust has erected fencing, installed new signage and planted thorny vegetation to act as a barrier.

It is against the trust's bye-laws to “bathe in any pond, lake or stream on the Hills where bathing has been prohibited”. Anyone in breach of this bye-law could face police action.

Malvern Hills Trust staff and police officers will be regularly patrolling the site to ensure that people are staying safe and out of the water.