BREAKING: Teenager dies after falling from Leeds building

A teenager has died in Leeds after falling from the roof of a disused industrial building last night.
Emergency services at the scene of last night's tragedy.Emergency services at the scene of last night's tragedy.
Emergency services at the scene of last night's tragedy.

Police say they are still working on establishing exactly what happened but understand the 14 year-old boy was at the site near Kirkstall with friends and had been on the roof when he fell through into the building.

Officers were called to the site at Wyther Lane at around 8.30pm and gave first aid to him before being joined by ambulance staff, including air ambulance paramedics, who gave emergency treatment but he died at the scene.

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The scene is undergoing forensic examination today and officers from Leeds District CID are liaising with the Health and Safety Executive and Leeds City Council and contacting the owners of the site.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.

Det Insp Phil Jackson, of Leeds District CID, said: “While we are still carrying out enquiries into this incident, every indication is that this has been a tragedy with no suspicious circumstances.

“Clearly the boy’s family are completely distraught and we are doing everything we can to support them at this difficult time and have appointed a family liaison officer to assist them.

“We are speaking with the Health and Safety Executive, the council and the owners of the site to establish the full circumstances of this incident and to see that suitable measures are put in place to avoid any further incidents."

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It follows two recent similar incidents where two boys were seriously injured in falls at disused buildings. A 12-year-old boy was seriously injured at a disused factory in Modder Avenue, Armley, on June 20, and a 13-year-old boy was seriously injured at a derelict building in Ninelands Lane, Garforth, on May 28.

The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.
The Yorkshire Air Ambulance is drafted in.

DI Jackson added: “This is the third incident of this nature in recent months, although sadly on this occasion it has proven fatal. In the other two cases, young boys have received very serious injuries that will have lasting consequences for them.

“We fully appreciate that young people can find sites such as this interesting and want to explore them. While we would never seek to blame the young people involved in these recent incidents for what has happened we do need to remind young people of the potential dangers of entering abandoned buildings and other places, such as building sites, and we hope parents will assist us by reinforcing that message to their children.

“Officers from our neighbourhood teams and safer schools officers are linking with schools across the city the assist in getting the message across.

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“We are obviously coming up the school holidays and clearly there is potential for young people to be tempted to try to explore abandoned sites. We would ask that they think very carefully about the dangers this involves, as has been starkly illustrated by these incidents, and that they consider the consequences that could have on their lives and the lives of their families.”