Don't leave holes in beach, warns coastguard

Members of Mablethorpe Coastguard Rescue Team fill in the 6ft hole in Sandilands beach, Lincolnshire

Coastguards have issued a warning after filling in a "very dangerous" deep hole in a Lincolnshire beach.

The Mablethorpe Coastguard Rescue Team responded to an alert from HM Coastguard Humber on Wednesday of a 6ft (1.8m) deep hole dug in Sandilands beach.

Crew members filled the hole "for safety reasons", according to a post on the team's social media, citing the risk of injury and "entrapment should a hole collapse".

The warning comes two years after a 14-year-old boy was almost "buried alive" when a hole he was digging collapsed at nearby Anderby Creek.

Coastguard crews and firefighters rescued the boy, who was stuck with only his head visible, from a collapsed hole in 2023.

Holes left on beaches pose a risk to beachgoers, including children and pets.

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