ENVIRONMENTAL officers have been forced to install a 1.8 metre-high fence to prevent young trespassers from ‘risking their lives’ by climbing onto a culvert at Cardigan’s River Mwldan.

Natural Resources Wales say the ‘drastic action’ follows social media photos showing teenagers sat on top of the concrete structure which has a 5.3-metre drop into a deep water pool below.

Natural Resources Wales officers say safety signs are being ignored and that they have also seen for themselves evidence of trespassing around the river bank as people try to illegally access the culvert.

“To keep people safe and prevent damage to the culvert, a 1.8 metre-high fence has been installed to replace the existing fence,” said a spokesman.

“It is hoped this will stop people from scaling the riverbank to access the culvert, and still allow secure access for maintenance staff.”

Two manholes have also been replaced with lockable covers after officers came across YouTube footage of children skateboarding through the culvert.

“We really can’t stress enough the danger young people are putting themselves in by illegally accessing the culvert,” said Peter Morgan, technical support officer for NRW.

“Their actions are putting not just their own lives at risk but also the lives of others, including the emergency services who would be called to an incident, and to the community who are at risk of flooding from the River Mwldan.

“We hope the new security measures will now stop people from accessing the culvert and prevent a terrible accident from happening.”

See this week’s South Ceredigion paper for the full story, available in shops and as a digital edition now