PARENTS are being asked if they know their children's whereabouts after 'drinking parties' were found to be reportedly taking place near a rural beach.

Askam residents said they are 'extremely concerned' about the dangers caused by parties taking place around the Blacks Pond area.

Over the Easter Bank Holiday weekend, food packaging, drink bottles, glass and remnants of a camp fire were left discarded three nights in a row near the beach.

A spokesman for the Askam & Ireleth Information Page is calling on parents to intervene if their child is partaking in 'irresponsible' behaviour.

They said: "If your teenagers or young adults came home over the weekend smelling of campfire smoke, please have a word about where they were.

"Yet again, Sunday was the third night in a row where food packaging and drinks bottles were left in the woods behind Blacks Pond in Askam.

"We brought back as much as we could carry.

"It isn’t the responsibility of volunteers or your neighbours to spend their weekends clearing other people’s rubbish. It’s not the job of the land owner to clear up broken beer bottles to prevent children or animals hurting themselves. I

"It’s not fair on the Fire Brigade, regularly called out to fires, started by irresponsible people.

"However, I can’t find the words to sum up what type of person deliberately breaks sapling trees.

"This isn’t a bit of litter. Cumbria Police have been informed and no doubt have an idea who to have a chat with – they will class this as vandalism, fly tipping and anti-social behaviour. Parents please, have a word and send them back to clear up their mess."

And residents are insisting that the issue is worsening due to lack of police presence in Askam.

A spokesman added: "The issue is getting worse and becoming more widespread.

"There is zero police presence in Askam and people have given up reporting things because the opinion is that they don't care."