RECKLESS teenagers are “dicing with death” by running across roof tops on Southend High Street.

Witnesses watched in horror as the daredevils “risked their lives” by climbing on top of the roof of both WHSmith and Nando’s in the high street.

Four teenagers are believed to have used scaffolding to climb onto the rooftops at roughly 6.30pm on Wednesday before sitting on the edge and taking selfies.

An onlooker, who wished to remain anonymous, spotted yobs “exploring” the rooftops for nearly 20 minutes - having initially mistaken the group for workmen.

The teenagers were spotted sitting on the roof ledge, dangling their legs over the edge and peering down at shoppers in the street.

The 40-year-old, from Southend, said: “I was by the window when I saw there were people on the roof. At first I thought they were contractors, where there is the scaffolding there.

“But when I looked closer I could see they were kids. They were taking selfies and mucking about. It’s obviously pretty dangerous, so I was definitely shocked to see them up there.

“What surprised me the most was this building site isn’t secure enough to stop them doing that. It tells you something if they can get on the roof.”

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Martin Terry, councillor for public protection, has warned that such “reckless” behaviour could end in tragedy or someone being seriously injured.

It comes after similar trouble hit the town back in June, with adrenaline-seekers filming themselves “surfing” on lifts across Southend before attempting to hop on the back of the town’s iconic pier trains.

The intruders were spotted on top of lifts at the Victoria Shopping Centre, Pier Hill and the town’s tower blocks for the stunt, which was shared on Youtube.

Mr Terry urged youngsters to stay safe. He said: “We’ve had this before with people climbing up the lifts in the high street.

“You just shouldn’t do this sort of thing, its putting lives at risk.

“The last thing we want is a tragedy on our hands.

“If someone falls they could really hurt themselves.

“It’s trespassing for a start and could possibly put members of the public in danger too. We don’t want to see anyone seriously injured, these silly pranks can’t continue.

“I will inform the community safety team and they will in turn perhaps look at CCTV.”