DON'T play near electricity pylons and cables - it could cost you your life. That's the warning to Hampshire children as the school summer holidays get under way. Bosses at Southern Electric are urging kids not to fly kites or play football and other games under pylons, power cables or near sub-stations. Even parents who fly model planes and drones near power cables are putting themselves at risks from electrocution warn officials.

Head of Southern Electric Power Distribution operations Craig Gilroy said: “From the outside, our substations are quite innocent looking but don’t let that fool you, inside there is a lot of equipment that can be very dangerous in the wrong hands. If your football, cricket ball or Frisbee ends up inside our substation, please don’t go after it. If you do, you run the risk of an electric shock which can leave you with some serious burns, you may even lose a limb or even worse. Our Emergency Service Centre is open 24hours and can now be contacted on your mobile for free, so there’s no excuse for not giving us a call on 0800 072 7282 from a landline or 0345 072 1905 on a mobile."

He pointed out that model planes and drones are "incredibly powerful and can fly really fast and high" and warned that if a craft hits a power line or crashes into a substation it can have disastrous circumstances. This includes damaging important pieces of electrical equipment, power cuts, or serious injury to the pilot.

Mr Gilroy had this warning: "If you’re flying a kite and it gets caught in the overhead power lines, live electricity could travel down the cord and seriously hurt you. So be careful and remember to steer well clear of our lines."

He also reminded fishermen to take care. "When fishing, take care to look around you for overhead power lines before casting your line. Remember that electricity can jump gaps, so even if you don’t come into contact with a power line you could still be in danger if you get too close," said Mr Gilroy who also warned campers not to pitch tents under power lines.

"Never pitch your tent near our electricity lines, as it’s all too easy for its metal and carbon fibre poles to strike the overhead lines while you’re setting up," he added.

Mr Gilroy concluded: “It only takes a few minutes to check your surroundings to make sure that you’re not playing close to our equipment, and these simple checks can mean your summer holidays being memorable for all the right reasons, and not for the time spent in hospital.”

Anyone who comes across fallen power lines or damaged equipment when out walking or running is asked to call Southern Electric on 0800 072 7282 from a landline or 0345 072 1905 from a mobile.