For the past 10 years, RNLI lifeguards have carried a ‘duty of care’ to provide a reasonable level of care to all beach users.

Our lifeguards interact with members of the public more than 2M times a year. Most of the time, people are glad to speak to the lifeguards and happy to take their advice. But some people choose to ignore the lifeguards and carry on with dangerous activities.

In these cases, the RNLI now has a ‘duty of warning’ rather than a ‘duty of care’ – we must make people aware of the risks on the beaches we patrol but, should they choose to ignore our advice, their safety is no longer our responsibility.

Of course, RNLI lifeguards will still do everything in their power to keep all beach goers safe. This line in the sand simply protects our lifeguards from undue aggression and litigation.