As the school holiday gets underway, Romsey housebuilder, Barratt Homes is warning children to stay away from its building sites this summer.

Whilst building sites may look like a fun place to explore, the developers say they pose a serious danger to children and adults.

Barratt Homes is currently constructing new houses across 44 acres at Kings Chase in Romsey and are appealing to parents to keep children off the building sites.

Housebuilders, Redrow say two to three children die every year on construction sites and many more are injured as a result of an accident.

According to statistics from the Health and Safety Executive, more than 80 children have been seriously injured on building sites since 2006.

Mark Keen, Barratt Homes Construction director said: “Building sites are full of potential dangers and, as the holidays are here, it is important to remind children and their parents of the need to stay away from them.

“Youngsters are often on the lookout for somewhere new and exciting to play, but construction sites are not playgrounds. While our construction teams watch out for youngsters during the day and we secure our sites at night, we ask parents to make sure they know where their children are during the holiday time.”

“It’s important to get youngsters thinking about the dangers that exist to emphasise the message, they should stay away from building sites,”

Barratt Homes holds regular safety talks and site visits for schools close to where it is building, to highlight the hazards of playing on or near building sites.

To mark the start of the summer holidays it has compiled its top five dangers on a construction site which are things falling on you, falling into holes or ditches, being hit by heavy machinery, tripping or falling over pipes and getting trapped in pipes or drains.