Patrols are to be carried out on one of the most popular beaches in North Cornwall to help keep people safety during the bank holiday weekend.

As there are currently no RNLI lifeguards at Perranporth, members of the Perranporth Surf Life Saving Club said they would be carrying out 'surveillance only' patrols on the main beach during high risk times.

This means that they are unable to find a safe way to operate red and yellow flagged bathing areas, and they are not insured to carry out water rescues at present, they would be placing red flags on the beach when conditions are dangerous.

"This means we strongly recommend people don't go in the sea," said the club.

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The club has given guidance on its Facebook page for how people on the beach can stay safe:

• Parents/Careers to stay with children at all times.

• Do not enter the sea when the red flag is flying.

• Do not venture deeper than waist deep if there is no red flag

• Do not climb on rocks or enter caves.

• Be aware of fast moving tides and surges.

The club said: "By offering advice, we aim to prevent incidents and inform people of less obvious dangers.

"Our volunteer lifeguards have the training and local knowledge to offer advice - from a distance - that we hope will help people to keep themselves safe.

"Should an incident develop, our club volunteers can act as an important contact for the emergency services, relaying the accurate information they need to deliver the best response.

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"It’s much easier to control risks when working on a preventative basis than in the response phase of a rescue. Prevention and early intervention reduces the likelihood of an incident developing that might put our volunteer coastguard and lifeboat crews in a situation where infection risks are much harder to control."

It added that since the recent relaxing of the lockdown rules, the governing body of surf life saving clubs around the country had been forced to act "very fast" to allow clubs to offer some sort of safety cover in an unprecedented time, and this service would develop in the coming weeks.

"Perranporth Surf Life Saving Club will support the RNLI lifeguard service when it resumes," added the club.

The Perranporth club was set up in 1957, following a spate of tragic drownings, and has been helping to make the beach safer ever since.