A senior coastguard has issued a safety warning after a group of children were seen jumping from a bridge over the River Medway.

About 20 youngsters, from primary school age up to teens, gathered at the structure in Whatman Park, close to Royal Engineers Road, at about 2pm yesterday.

A video has since emerged of their reckless antics.

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As some children, off camera, egg them on, others climb over the railing and look down to the water about 15ft below.

Eventually some of them jump to the sound of cheers after a 3-2-1 countdown.

But while the youngsters may have thought they were just enjoying yesterday's scorching temperatures, they could have been putting themselves in danger.

VIDEO: The children can be seen jumping from the bridge into the river.

Senior coastal operations officer for North Kent at HM Coastguard, Nigel Woolley has warned of the dangers of the stunt.

He said: "HM Coastguard are not the fun police, we're not stopping people having fun.

"But the problem with jumping into rivers and waterways is you have no idea what's in them. On the bottom could be shopping trolleys, wooden stakes or mud and they may trap you when you jump in and not allow you to go back to the surface."

He also said in the recent hot temperatures people could suffer shock when jumping into comparatively cold water, which could lead to drowning.

The River Medway, he added, is tidal so could prove problematic to swim in.

He added: "Children just see the water and see it as fun and don't understand the risks."

Police said they had not been made aware of the incident.