POLICE and fire crews were scrambled to city centre streets yesterday after youths were seen running along the rooftops.
Three 14-year-olds were "given strong words of advice" following the reckless behaviour in Chichester at about 5.30pm.
Drones and thermal imaging cameras were used to carry out safety checks after teams used ladders to access the rooftops and locate the youths.
In an update posted on social media following the incident, fire officer Carol Halewood said: "A slightly unusual incident today. Youths were seen running across rooftops in Chichester.
"Fortunately, a happy outcome, it could've been very different."
Chichester Fire Station also issued a statement on the incident.
It said: "Blue Watch attended an incident (yesterday) evening. Youths were seen running along rooftops in Chichester.
"We can’t reinforce enough that this is incredibly silly behaviour and could have resulted in tragedy."
Sussex Police said that three 14-year-olds had been identified in connection with the incident.
A spokeswoman said: "Police were called to East Street, Chichester, around 3.45pm on Sunday (November 29) to reports of a group of young people on the roof of a building causing a disturbance.
"Officers attended and three 14-year-old boys were identified.
"They were given strong words of advice about their behaviour.
"A drone was used to search the rooftops for any other persons, but none were seen."
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