A video has been posted on YouTube showing a man narrowly missing rocks as he jumped almost 60ft off cliffs into a pool at a Shropshire quarry.

The man, dressed just in shorts and socks, is egged on by his friends to jump into a pool at one of the quarries on Wenlock Edge and looks down several times before finally taking the plunge, missing the rocks below by a matter of feet.

The posting of the clip comes days after police condemned a Facebook group which was launched to encourage youngsters to go swimming at the quarries.

Constable Stuart Lippitt, local policing officer for the area, said he had seen the clip. He added: “I was as nervous watching it as the person was who was jumping. He certainly did not miss the rocks by much at the bottom.

“This is exactly the kind of thing we are urging people not to do.

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“There is not only the risk of hitting the rocks, there is the temperature once you hit the water.

“I know from strong swimmers that cold water has a severe effect on your body, it saps your strength and your muscles.

“People could get half way across and suddenly seize up. It is just too dangerous.”

The Quarry Much Wenlock Facebook page also allows people to post photographs of themselves swimming at the sites.

But police said although the pictures showed an idyllic blue pool, the water, which is incredibly deep, cold and has hidden ledges just beneath the surface, posed a risk to even strong swimmers.

Mr Lippitt said it was not just young people police had found swimming in the quarries – he had even come across adults taking their young children for a dip.

Last year up to 50 youngsters were spotted by police swimming at a pool at Shadwell Quarry in Farley Road, Much Wenlock, by a passing community support officer who stopped to warn them of the dangers.

A post on the Facebook page sent from West Mercia’s Facebook page reads: “Please don’t go swimming in Wenlock Quarry or jumping from the cliffs into the water no matter how tempting it may seem – it is highly dangerous. Sadly people have died in recent years doing just that, thanks to the cold waters and hidden dangers.

“Police have put out a warning today against taking a dip in open waters – we know all too well the tragic consequences this can have.”

By Wayne Beese