Warnings as children seen climbing on bridge

Children are risking their lives by climbing on a bridge, a councillor has warned.

Boys were seen walking on top of Points Bridge, which spans the River Tyne near Wylam, Northumberland, on Wednesday evening, said Lawrence O'Donnell, who represents Prudhoe North and Wylam.

The Labour councillor said: "It was a stormy day and it had been raining and if they fell from there, they would have no chance.

"I'm worried some parents don't know what their kids are up to."

O'Donnell said many older people in the area remembered climbing on the structure, which is also known as Hagg Bank bridge.

"I think it was perhaps a bit of a rite of passage back then," he said.

"But not in the last few years, so it's concerning if children have started going up there again."

Signs there warn people not to jump off the bridge into the water below.

In 2024 two teenage boys, Aras Rudzianskas and David Radut, from Newcastle, died after getting into difficulties at Ovingham two miles (3km) upriver.

Two years previously, 13-year-old Robert Hattersley from Crawcrook, Gateshead, also died in the same stretch of water.

In response, a water safety day was organised by Prudhoe Youth Project in 2025 and will be held again on 4 July at Tyne Riverside Country Park, Prudhoe.

"A lot of people don't realise how fast flowing and dangerous the river is here." O'Donnell said.

"We really don't want any more loss of life in this area."

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