YOUNG tearaways have risked their lives by starting heavy construction vehicles at Bournemouth's biggest building site.

Children have at least twice managed to start engines on vehicles parked overnight at the Castlepoint site in Castle Lane.

Builders are to re-iterate a warning to sub-contractors that all vehicles should be immobilised when the site is unattended.

A public meeting, called by Castlepoint developers to keep residents in touch, heard how bystanders had seen girls breaking into the cab of a digger last week.

A woman told the meeting the incident had been witnessed by staff at a nearby chip shop.

Danny Maxwell, project manager for Kier Build, promised to take up the issue immediately.

"We've asked our sub-contractors with major plant on the site to demobilise them in the evenings," he said.

"For the main part, that has happened, because we had incidents around Christmas time during the break where we had young people locally getting into some of these pieces of plant.

"It's a very dangerous thing for any young person to do, particularly when he doesn't know what the hell he's got himself into. He stands to kill himself as well as other people," he added.

The Christmas incidents included boys getting into a JCB on a site scattered with deep holes.

"It's not an adventure playground," said Mr Maxwell. "We will do our utmost to demobilise them. I'll re-emphasise that to the team tomorrow."

The meeting heard most of the construction vehicles on site were newer models which had immobilisers fitted.

Castlepoint, being built on the site of the former Hampshire Centre, will be one of the 20 biggest out-of-town shopping parks in the country when it opens next year.

A Dorset Police spokesman confirmed there had been a report of a child starting one of the vehicles last week.