'Hundreds' ignore warning about toxic Derbyshire quarry

"Many hundreds of people" were seen at the former quarry on Bank Holiday Monday

Hundreds of people ignored warnings to stay away from a former quarry and its "toxic" pool, it has been claimed.

The water at Harpur Hill in Buxton, Derbyshire - dubbed the Blue Lagoon - is said to have "the same pH value as bleach".

Police and the fire service said they have continued to get reports of visitors to the "dangerous" site.

One local told the BBC they had seen people swimming in the pool over the bank holiday weekend.

The resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said he was walking in the area and saw "many hundreds of people" at the quarry, including "at least five" in the water.

"We were just walking in the area and spotted the crowds heading towards the pool," he said.

"At this point we had walked for over four hours and come across maybe 20 or 30 people. I would say that there were many hundreds of people."

Wayne Dilworth posted a video on Twitter which showed one person doing a flip into the water while others could be seen paddling.

He said the clip was recorded on Monday and asked police and the fire service what was being done to prevent swimming.

Emergency services have said the lagoon - where a toxic black dye is often put into the water to deter swimming - is "far from the idyllic beauty spot".

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The fire service tweeted a reminder to stay out of the water on Monday, amid reports of visitors heading to the quarry.

On Friday, Paul Hawker - from the service - said there were other dangers in the water including "old cars" and animal carcasses.

Before the bank holiday weekend, Derbyshire Police said it was getting reports of people using the site "on a near daily basis".

It said extra patrols had been put in place.

Buxton's Blue Lagoon is often dyed to a more off-putting black to deter people

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