YORKSHIRE Water is appealing to people not to drive to its reservoirs this bank holiday weekend.

It says only those who live within walking distance of the reservoirs - including Grimwith and Thruscross - are allowed and that all car parks remain closed due to the coronavirus lockdown.

It is also telling people not to be tempted to swim in the reservoirs, even though the weather may be warm.

A spokesperson for Yorkshire Water said: “Since the government guidelines have changed, we’ve been working hard to devise a plan to keep everyone safe while enjoying our beautiful reservoirs. Our key workers visit our reservoirs regularly to do vital engineering checks so we’re putting plans in place to help protect them.

"While we do this, we want to remind everyone to not visit our reservoirs this bank holiday weekend unless you live within walking distance. Unfortunately, lots of people are still visiting our reservoirs despite car parks being closed and we’ve had several incidences of people parking inappropriately on roads nearby causing traffic issues.

"This has caused issues for emergency services, so please don’t visit this weekend and hopefully we’ll be back open soon."

The spokesperson added: "We have also received several reports of people swimming in our reservoirs this week. Whilst it might be tempting when the weather is hot, please remember that it is not safe to do so. Reservoir temperatures rarely go above 12 degrees and there is no lifeguard around in case something goes wrong.”