THE death of a 14-year-old boy at a Bradford beauty spot has been described as a "tragedy", with people urged to take extra precautions. 

Emergency services were called to the scene, at Goit Stock waterfall, Cullingworth, on Tuesday night following reports of someone in the water.

“Emergency services attended, including fire service, ambulance and underwater rescue teams, and recovered a body from the water," said a West Yorkshire Police spokesperson.

“There are not thought to be any suspicious circumstances and a file has been prepared for the coroner.”

Councillor Naveed Riaz, of the Bingley Rural ward, gave his condolences to the boy’s friends and family, calling the incident a “tragedy”.

Cllr Riaz added that people should take “extra precaution” when visiting areas like Goit Stock, and said that people must learn from the incident.

“I offer my condolences to the boy’s family and friends. It’s a very tragic death”, he said.

“Last year, there were a number of deaths, across the UK, from drowning.

“I think we all need to learn from this, we should take extra precaution and we all need to think sensibly.

“I saw queues of cars near Goit Stock on Tuesday, and with the nice weather, a lot of people were going there.

“During lockdown last year, I met a number of individuals, and there were a lot of concerns about anti-social behaviour in the area, especially at night, which was a major issue.

“The dilemma we are faced with is that the area is privately owned. Therefore, for Bradford Council and the police, their hands are virtually tied, as it is private property.

“We have to ensure that we act responsibly. At our next meeting, after the elections, we are hoping to campaign for more signs in the area, and we will see if we can work with the landlord, in the hope that we can implement some more safety measures at Goit Stock, which will hopefully stop things like this from happening.

“But that is the biggest problem we have. As it is privately owned we can’t do anything.

“But I would like to thank the emergency services for what they did yesterday.

“They were very quick and were on the scene straight away. The ambulance service, Yorkshire Air Ambulance, the police, the fire service, they were all there.

“I think they tried to do everything they could, but unfortunately, they couldn’t save the boy.”

Councillor Paul Sullivan, also of the Bingley Rural ward, added that the teenager’s death represents a “tragic loss”.

He echoed some of the same concerns raised by Cllr Riaz, arguing that more safety measures need to be put in place in the area.

“It’s a tragic loss and it’s very sad news”, he said.

“Myself and others have been working with the the land owners, as it’s private property, and the police, who are battling with scarce resources.

“The main problem came about when there was a big advertisement last summer, encouraging people to go there, and the bottom line is, they are still coming.

“It needs to stop being advertised. It is extremely difficult to stop people coming, there are no legal means of stopping people walking on a footpath, but we don’t need to advertise it.

Cllr Sullivan said he had even taken to patrolling the area.

“I know from my dealings last year, during the first lockdown, there were people coming there from as far away as Manchester,” he said.

“I did some patrols to see for myself, and there were literally hundreds of people there at times.

“But I just want to say that I extend my condolences to the family and the friends of this young man.

“This is an absolutely tragic loss, and it’s very sad that someone so young has died.”

Meanwhile, police are appealing for witnesses of the incident.

They said there was a group of males in the area who tried to help the teenager and police are urging them or, anyone in the area, to come forward and assist.