Police call for safe snow fun

Police are pleading for children and young people to be careful and use common sense when having fun in the snow after a spate of incidents.

In just 24 hours, over 40 reports came in of young people throwing snowballs at inappropriate targets such as passing motor vehicles and pedestrians.

Police say there have also been instances and complaints about snowballs being directed at the homes of elderly and other vulnerable people.

Lincolnshire Police spokesperson Dick Holmes said: “Children and young people traditionally like to have fun in weather conditions such as these and we do not wish to spoil their enjoyment.”

“We have to take account of the general health and well-being of members of the public and throwing snowballs at moving vehicles can potentially cause a collision.

“It is also unfair to cause unease and distress in the more vulnerable members of society purely in the pursuit of a bit of fun.

“Ultimately the more serious instances of this type of behaviour could lead to arrests for offences such as criminal damage, public order offences and, in an incident where someone is killed after being involved in a road collision after being the target of snowballs, possibly even manslaughter.

“The last thing we want is for someone to suffer a life-threatening or life-changing injury. Nor would we wish to see someone have their future blighted by a conviction for a serious criminal offence arising from such circumstances.

“Please make sure that your children are enjoying themselves in an appropriate location using a degree of common sense.

“Finally we all too often read of tragedies across the country where people have lost their lives having ventured onto frozen ponds, lakes, rivers and waterways.

“People have also lost their lives trying to rescue people or pets who have got into difficulty having fallen through the ice.

“Please keep off the ice and discourage children and other persons from such dangerous activity,” Holmes added.

Source: Lincolnshire Police