CHILDREN as young as eight are repeatedly putting their lives at risk as they insist on playing on the roof of a town centre building.

Elaine Houston, postmistress of Millom Post Office, is trying to raise awareness of an ongoing problem that has been plaguing businesses in St George's Road for months.

Reports have been made to the Evening Mail of a group of children aged between eight and 12 who gather by the wall at Barclays Bank and disappear around the back of the property to climb onto the roof of the post office.

Mrs Houston said: "It started a couple of months ago and I've chased them away several times but then I hadn't heard anything for a while.

"A couple of weeks ago it started back up again and it happened again on Wednesday night, when I was called out because all the alarms were going off."

At about 8pm on Wednesday evening, Mrs Houston had to leave her home in Haverigg to disable the alarm.

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Describing the drop from the roof as being 18-20ft high, Mrs Houston was determined to put a stop to the trend by issuing a warning on social media.

She said: "It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt.

"They only need to go through the roof or because they're climbing the drain pipes it only takes one of them to come off the wall.

"If they fell and landed on the steps they could be killed.

"It's an accident waiting to happen".

Having spoken to other businesses along that stretch of St George's Road, Mrs Houston is under the impression that the area has become a prime location for teenagers because of the free Wi-Fi they can pick up from Barclays Bank.

She said: "There's a big park the other side of the back wall they could use but now they're always hanging around that wall. They never used to be there."

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Cumbria police has no official record of the incidents but is warning people not to break the law by trespassing and not to put themselves at risk.

A spokesman said: “I would urge anyone who is worried about people trespassing or putting themselves in dangerous situations should contact police and report the incident.

“I would like to remind people to act responsibly and not put themselves or friends at risk of danger."

Mrs Houston is also pleading with parents to take note and to take action before a child is seriously injured.

She said: "Just please talk to your kids about the dangers of climbing on roofs. Something bad will happen if they don't stop doing this."