Police on the Isle of Wight have issued an appeal to parents to ensure they know where their children are, following a spate of reports of youths on roofs in Newport.
Concerned residents have contacted officers to report the young people, who have been seen to climb on to the roofs of shops and outbuildings in and around Newport High Street.
In a post on the force's Facebook page, PCSO Livvy said:
"Due to the weather being so nice we are receiving numerous reports of children climbing onto the roof areas of several stores in Newport town centre.
"Aside from the damage being caused to the roofing there obviously is a significant risk to these children.
"I don’t need to highlight the danger of this as it is obvious but please if you suspect your children may be doing this explain the dangers again to them.
"We will be visiting the parents of any children we find up here and we will also deal with any damage caused."
However, despite the warnings issued by police on social media, decisions have been made within the force not to attend calls to reports of youths on roofs, unless criminal damage or an anti-social behaviour aspect is identified by the caller.
A Hampshire Constabulary spokesperson told Isle of Wight Radio:
"Ordinarily, we would not deploy to reports of youths on a roof. Our attendance could cause further risk to those involved as it could lead them to run away or behave in a manner which could result in injury in unsafe or unfamiliar surroundings.
"Children on a roof is a civil trespass matter, but police will deal with any associated criminal damage and anti-social behaviour if this is identified to us by the caller.
"The Neighbourhoods Team in Newport have been working closely with other agencies as part of the Community Safety Partnership to minimise any disruption caused by anti-social behaviour.
"We encourage people to report anti-social behaviour to us as we will target our patrols based on the risk and the information passed to us. We may not be able to deploy on every occasion, but all reports will be flagged to the Neighbourhoods Team for follow up."
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