PEOPLE have been warned to steer clear of a dangerous derelict jetty in Gourock amid fears that the dilapidated dock could pose a threat to local lives.

Councillor Sandra Reynolds believes the old Admiralty Jetty on Cardwell Bay poses a serious risk to anyone who attempts to approach it or climb onto it.

The pier is just yards away from a local play park and young children have recently been seen approaching a ruined section of the jetty.

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Councillor Reynolds has asked Inverclyde Council officials to find out who owns the wreck so that action can be taken, but is urging the public to stay away from it in the meantime.

(Image: George Munro)

She said: “It’s unsafe. I’ve seen a wee boy of about four years old standing at the very edge of it, and I’ve seen teenagers playing on it.

“When it’s high tide, it’s completely covered, and anyone at the edge could fall and hurt themselves. It’s all wood and metal and they won’t know what’s underneath.

“At the moment it’s a public safety issue which it sounds like the council may have some kind of interest in.

“They don’t have the money to do anything with it, and it’s not their responsibility unless it becomes a safety issue.

“I’m worried someone could be seriously hurt, especially during the summer months.

“It hasn’t happened yet, but that doesn’t mean to say it won’t.

“It will take time, but the council are trying to find out who is responsible and, in the meantime, there is a safety issue that people need to be aware of.”

Councillor Reynolds said it was important for parents to make their children aware of the dangers that attempting to climb onto the jetty could bring.

(Image: George Munro) (Image: George Munro)

She added: “Parents should make children aware, particularly teenagers who are going to be out on their own, aware that they shouldn’t go near it.

"It’s falling into more and more disrepair, and as it does, the structures there become more dangerous.

“As it deteriorates you get bits of metal, bits of woods and sharp objects under the water.

“We’ve been looking at this for around 15 months and the position keeps changing in terms of who we believe it belongs to.

“In 1996 it belonged to a local guy who has since died, and it looked like it didn’t belong to anyone after that, so it looked like it had reverted to the Crown Estate.

“However, the latest information is that the Crown Estate doesn’t think it’s of any interest to them, so the council have contacted solicitors, who have then directed them to another solicitor.

“It’s still ongoing in terms of who owns it and if anything can be done to rectify the situation.”

Councillor John Crowther, who has been a long-standing water safety campaigner and was previously the council’s water safety champion, described the pier as an "accident waiting to happen".

He told the Telegraph: “At low water and with a big spring tide it’s possible to get out to the pier.

“You can get out there and clamber on. There are ladders that lead up and down.

“I understand that on some of those ladders the bolts are becoming loose. They’re slackening off and they’re also becoming corroded, so you could try to go up there and those ladders could come down.

“The ones who try to get out to the pier either use small dinghies, or I know that some kids have gone out there using the likes of sticks to row themselves out.

“They’re climbing up potentially insecure ladders and putting their own lives at risk.

“Rowing out on a small dinghy without lifesaving equipment is also an example of them putting their lives at risk.

“Fortunately, I don’t think there have been any incidents, but I could be wrong.

“However, it is an accident waiting to happen.

“You will see kids playing in among the ruins of that part of the pier. Could that collapse at any time? It is possible.

“If they’re there on their own and they take a knock on their head and fall into water, you’ve got a potential of drowning.

“I would say most of it is insecure and ready to collapse on itself, people should not take the risk on it.”

An Inverclyde Council spokesperson said: “The pier is not council property and investigations into current ownership are ongoing."