Beadnell harbour closure considered amid jumping fears

Mr McAdam said the site was "not a playground, it's a very dangerous working harbour"

A popular harbour could be closed to the public amid fears of people jumping off the walls, its master has said.

Anthony McAdam said visitors to Beadnell in Northumberland were ignoring warning signs and "tombstoning" into the sea.

He said it was a working harbour and there had been close calls with fishing boats.

He told BBC Radio Newcastle it had been an issue for years but was "very hard" to police.

Urging people not to jump from the harbour walls, he said that if there was "an accident, we could potentially be liable and we are not prepared to take that responsibility any more".

He said that recently, "more and more people" had been jumping into the harbour and there had been incidents of "children, teenagers and even adults" jumping in front of moving boats.

He added that there had also been issue with a tightrope, which had been set up between the harbour's two piers, blocking the 10 boats using it.

"Basically they are treating the harbour as a playground," he said.

"It's not a playground, it's a very dangerous working harbour.

"They could break their backs, necks... the list of dangers is endless."

Mr McAdam said the Beadnell Harbour Fishermen's Society, which owns the site, had tried to stop people but "very blatant" warning signs were being ignored.

He added that if people wanted to swim, they could do so in the nearby bay, adding: "I have a duty as harbour master to stop these potential dangers from happening."