THE mother of a teenager who drowned at Prestonhill Quarry has urged young West Fifers to keep safe during their summer holidays.

Gillian Barclay lost her 18-year-old son, Cameron Lancaster, nearly four years ago when he was carrying out an ‘ice bucket challenge’ at the disused Inverkeithing site.

Ten months later, the water claimed the life of John McKay, 18, while teacher Kelda Henderson, from Edinburgh, died there in July last year when she failed to resurface after an organised diving trip went wrong.

Gillian is horrified the area is still proving an attraction to teenagers.

“I can’t go anywhere near the quarry and I have not been there since 2014 but people have said to me they have seen young people in there recently,” she told the Press.

“We have just passed the anniversary of Kelda Henderson’s death so this time of year is the most dangerous as people are tempted to jump into the water.”

Since Cameron’s death, Gillian has campaigned to have the area made safe. Last month, it was revealed she was to receive an MBE for her services to dementia care and public safety. She has also supported Water Safety Scotland’s aim to reduce the number of accidental drownings by half by 2026.

“I have spoken to about seven schools already and another five to go in Fife. I think the thing that has been really important about the campaign in the schools is none of us are saying don’t go into the water and don’t do stuff. We are saying learn to swim, do it in a controlled way and if you are going in the water, you should know the risks such as cold water shock and other health risks.

“Fife is really lucky that we have so much coast. We have so many life guards on beaches in places like Kinghorn, Burntisland, Aberdour – more than any other region in Scotland. There is no need to be going into a manky quarry.”

Last month, Inverkeithing councillor Alice McGarry highlighted work to warn around 2,000 high school children of the dangers of water.

She said: “This kind of weather attracts them. Police and fire do go past and there isn’t much else they can do. They can try to speak to them but providing they aren’t doing any harm, the council and the police can’t do much to stop them swimming. A lot of work has been done to spread the word about the dangers. It is a lot quieter now.

“A couple of years ago, gangs of people were going along but that isn’t happening anymore so the message must be getting through.”