Perranporth foil boarders urged to keep away from surfers

Boards can be paddled like a surfboard or used with a kite, windsurf sail or a hand-held wing

Foil boarders have been asked to stay away from surfing areas at a Cornish resort amid safety concerns.

Perranzabuloe Parish Council said it had received "several concerns from surfers" about foil boards at Perranporth Beach.

The council said "to keep everyone safe" it had asked foil boarders to stay in the same zone as kite surfers.

The surfboard-type foil boards have two hydrofoil wings instead of fins which allow them to rise above the water.

Foilers have been asked to use the kite zones at Perranporth

Foil boards can be paddled like a surfboard or used with a kite, windsurf sail or a hand-held wing.

Parish councillor Peter Gaisford said foiling was "starting to make an impact on main surfing breaks", and the council wanted to avoid accidents "before it gets out of hand".

He said: "Being hit by the edge of a 45cm deep foil could cause severe injury.

"It is moving at speed and there is a lot of energy behind it."

He added: "We are not trying to create an us and them attitude.

"It's a polite request to foilers to keep in the kite zone to avoid severe injury from foil blades."

Cornwall-based foiler Glenn Eldridge said most surfers and foilers stayed away from each other because they preferred a different type of wave, so separation was "unnecessary".

"We want exactly the opposite to what surfers want which are glass, hollow waves," he said.

"If we really want to make sure that surfers are safe we need to separate the surfers because it is just as easy to get hit by a board or a fin in the line-up."