A VIDEO showing a group of thrillseekers climbing Poole Bridge has been condemned as ‘stupid’ and ‘incredibly dangerous’.

The footage, which was posted to Youtube on Sunday, appears to have been filmed by teenagers.

In the two-minute video, shot at night, one of the group climbs to the top of the 90-year-old lifting bridge while cars, lorries and buses pass underneath.

The youngster then gets out a mobile phone to take some pictures of his stunt. His legs can briefly be seen dangling over the edge as he sits on top of the structure.

Poole Town councillor Andy Hadley said the youth in the video was “endangering his own life and that of others” by risking a fall onto the road or walkway below.

“Youngsters will always seek thrills, and sadly whatever measures we put in place to protect them they will try and circumvent.”

He said the council increasingly had to “smother public access and buildings with safety barriers to protect people from their own stupidity”.

He added “more engaging pursuits” were needed for young people “but parents and others should be warning kids that it’s not cool to end up in a wheelchair for the rest of your life for a five-minute thrill-seeking experience.”

The group wrote underneath their video: "Do not attempt to copy any acts from this video. We are highly aware of the risks we take to complete the job!"

Cllr Andy Garner-Watts said the video was a cause for “major concern”.

“The people climbing the bridge should be prosecuted as they are enticing other people to follow in their steps and commit a dangerous act. Putting these videos on social media is reprehensible,” he said.

Poole Neighbourhood Inspector Simon Perry said: “It should be obvious that climbing bridges is an incredibly dangerous thing to do. Not only is there a clear risk to the individual if they were to fall off, but to other road users as well. 

“Sadly many antics such as we have seen in the circulated clip may be seen as amusing or thrill-seeking but end in tragedy. 

“The impact on those around can be devastating and I would urge this activity to stop before somebody is seriously injured or killed.”  

Last year, a group of 13-year-olds filmed themselves climbing onto the roof of Poole’s 120ft Lighthouse building.

However, their risky stunt was put to a stop with the arrival of police.

And in September, a teenage boy suffered life-changing injuries after plunging from a multi-storey car park while trying to get onto the roof of Poole’s bus depot.

The relative of a bus station employee told the Daily Echo at the time there were ongoing problems with young people attempting to leap from the roof of the station onto buses.