Beach Safety : Safety Advice
Beach operators comprise; Local Authorities, the National Trust and some private landowners/estates, for example West Wittering. The Crown Estate owns the inter-tidal zone, this comprises the land from the mean high water mark to the mean low water mark. Therefore on beaches where the mean high water mark is right against the promenade the land will be owned by the Crown. This often means that the Local Authority will lease the beach area.
Safety of employees
The basis of British health and safety law is the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Act sets out the general duties which employers have towards employees and members of the public, and employees have to themselves and each other.
These duties are qualified in the Act by the principle of 'so far as is reasonably practicable'. An employer does not have to take measures to avoid or reduce the risk if they are technically impossible or if the time, trouble or cost of the measures would be grossly disproportionate to the risk. Employers therefore should look at what the risks are and take sensible measures to tackle them.
Operators cannot solve their safety problems by simply introducing a one-off technical measure following an accident. This reactive approach fails to address the accident causation chain and will not identify underlying weaknesses in the safety management system of the operator. Operators must develop a pro-active approach to managing risks.
The starting point is to establish a safety management system based on acknowledged good practice. There are a number of publications that can assist an operator with this; Successful Health and Safety Management (HSG65) and the Guide to Occupational Health and Management Systems (BS880:1996), see resources for more details.
The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 set out in more detail what employers are required to do to manage health and safety. One of the main requirements is to carry out a risk assessment. Employers with five or more employees need to record the findings of the risk assessment. The Health and Safety Executive have published a leaflet 'Five steps to risk assessment' which gives more information and it is also covered in the RoSPA publication, 'Safety on Beaches', see resources for details.
The enforcement of this legislation is largely the province of the Health and Safety Executive and local authorities, although the police and Crown Prosecution Service can also be involved, particularly where a death has occurred.
Safety of Visitors
The Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 places a duty on employers to ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, that in the course of their undertaking members of the public are not put at risk. Further the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 require an employer to make a 'suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks to the health and safety of persons not in his employment arising out of or in connection with the conduct by him of his undertaking'. So the duty to carry out risk assessments extends to visitors as well as employees.
A further statutory duty towards visitors arises under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. An occupier of premises (this can include the beach and equipment upon it, like staging and diving boards) has a duty of care to any visitor using the premises for the purposes for which he is permitted or invited to be there.
In addition the civil law allows injured persons to make a claim for damages where they can prove that they were owed a duty of care and that there was a breach of that duty that lead to their injury. This is known as the common law duty of care and the duty arises if there is:
- Sufficient proximity between the operator and the person injured, and it was
- Reasonable to foresee that harm may result from the actions of the operator, and
- It is fair, just and reasonable to impose a duty of care on the operator
Therefore in the same way as ensuring safety of employees whilst at work requires a pro-active management approach, this extends to visitors too. Again the starting point is to establish a safety management system based on acknowledged good practice.
Understanding the statutory and common law duties and applying them to a particular situation is not without difficulty. Further guidance can be found in the RoSPA publication, 'Safety on Beaches'. Also The Visitor Safety in the Countryside Group has published 'Managing Visitor Safety in the Countryside' which includes a good summary at chapter 9 of the duty to safeguard visitors, with illustrations of cases. See resources for details.
Safety signs and notices
Notices and signs must comply with the Safety Signs Regulations Health and Safety (Safety Signs and Signals) Regulations 1996 and BS 5378:Part 1 1980 Safety Signs and Colours and have to conform to BS 5499-6:2002 Design of Graphical Symbols for use in Safety Signs Requirements. Avoid the temptation to 'customise' signs as uniformity in the way safety information is conveyed helps avoid confusion. In addition, some well known water safety signs and symbols have gone through the BSi standardisation process and have formed the basis of BS 5499-11:2002 Part 11 Water Safety Signs. Sign manufacturers should be aware of these standards and be able to supply signs that conform to them. The RNLI has produced a guide to beach safety signs, flags and symbols for owners and operators. Contact the RNLI Beach Safety team for more information.
Flags
The flag system that operates on UK beaches is described below. Currently a new British Standard BS 8504 Beach Safety Flags - Colour, Shape and Meaning is being completed which outlines the four well-recognised flags in operation, namely:-
 |
Red over yellow rectangular: 'Lifeguard(s) on duty'
Two flags signify a swimming zone patrolled by lifeguards |
Red rectangular: 'Danger; do not enter the water'
To signify the danger of unsafe water conditions for swimming and other water activities |
 |
 |
Black and white quartered - 'Non-powered water craft zone'
To signify a zone between two flags designated for use of non-powered water craft |
Orange windsock - 'Danger; no inflatables to be used on the water'
To signify the danger of using inflatables in windy or unsafe water conditions
Water Quality
If a beach is a designated bathing beach then the water must be tested against standards set in the EC Bathing Water Directive 76/160/EEC. The testing is conducted by the Environment Agency in England and Wales, the Scottish Protection Agency in Scotland and the Environment and Heritage Service in Northern Ireland. The public must be able to access the results of the testing. A beach operator may wish to do this through signage at the beach or by other methods, for example using a website.
