Children threw 'head-sized rocks' from beauty spot

A mountain rescue member watched multiple instances of rocks being thrown

A volunteer says he was left stunned as he watched parents ignoring their children throwing "head-sized boulders" from the top of a beauty spot and on to the footpath below.

Ollie Henson, from Cleveland Mountain Rescue, was leading a group to the top of Roseberry Topping, a hill on the edge of the North York Moors, when he spotted the rocks being thrown.

He confronted the group, telling them about the potential impact of their actions and they stopped.

Nobody was injured but Cleveland Mountain Rescue has issued a warning to visitors.

Mr Henson said his group arrived at the top of the distinctive 1,050ft (320m) hill just before lunchtime on Tuesday.

"There were lots of children around and the parents of several families were ignoring their children," he said.

"Head-sized boulders were being thrown off the side face of the hill."

A footpath runs beneath the top of the hill and climbers are known to make their way up alternative routes to the summit.

Mr Henson, 34, confronted the group throwing rocks.

"I told them that their actions might have a bad impact on other people," he said.

A spokesperson for Cleveland Mountain Rescue said: "Roseberry Topping is a popular location for people to visit with a chance of an incident occurring with this type of activity.

"The throwing of rocks from the top has to be discouraged."