Furious row erupts in beautiful UK seaside town as coastguard tries to ban hole digging
The move has been called health and safety gone mad with one resident saying they need to "get a grip."
Digging deep holes at one beach could be a thing of the past if one HM Coastguard team has its way.
A crater carved out on Tregirls beach, near Padstow, has been quickly filled in with the help of a local farmer as there was concern it could collapse in on beachgoers.
But the move by HM Coastguard Padstow has been ridiculed by some residents - with one saying they should back off.
One said: “You'd think these people had never been to the beach before, they'll be banning buckets and spades next. We all need to get a grip,” reports MailOnline.
He added: “Somebody dug a hole on a quiet beach? So what? I can't believe the emergency services would even care, let alone fill it in and tell people off.”
The 8ft deep and 9ft wide hole was dug by hand and moved around nine tonnes of sand in the process last weekend. TV farmer Charlie Watson Smyth - who owns Padstow Farm - filled in the hole using a telehandler at the coastguard's request.
However - there are dangers associated with deep holes on the beach. In July 2021 an 18-year-old boy had to be dug out of the sand on Fistral Beach, Newquay. He had dug a hole that then collapsed on him. In 2005 three-year-old Abbie Livingstone-Nurse died when she jumped into a 5ft deep sand hole dug by her stepbrother on Towans Beach, Hayle.
Other local residents recognised the dangers, commenting on HM Coastguard Padstow's Facebook page.
One said: "Anyone that finds this a joke/funny, clearly can't remember the children that have died after these sort of holes collapse onto them..."
Another said: "This freaks me out. Especially when you see children playing in them I always worry it’s going to collapse. You hear horror stories of it happening all the time."
"Omg not worth thinking what could of happened! Thank god someone spotted it early enough," added another.
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An HM Coastguard Padstow said on Facebook: "We are aware of the large hole that has been dug on Tregirls Beach and the danger this presents to the general public. We have arranged for a local farmer to fill it in using a telehandler.
Express.co.uk has approached HM Coastguard Padstow for comment.