Beach red flagged over 'unfounded' sewage fears

The RNLI has defended the action of its lifeguards in advising swimmers to get out of the sea over fears of a sewage leak that turned out not to have existed.

Weymouth beach was "red-flagged" on Thursday afternoon after "concerns were raised about water quality".

Weymouth Town Council later said the report of pollution in the sea was "unfounded".

The Environment Agency also confirmed there had been "no sewage spill".

In a statement, the RNLI said its lifeguards had taken a "precautionary approach".

"In the interests of public safety, the beach was red flagged for the final 90 minutes of the day and beach users were advised to stay out of the water.

"RNLI lifeguards continually assess a range of hazards that could affect public safety and take appropriate action where necessary.

"Their primary responsibility is helping to keep beach users safe and decisions are made based on the information available at the time," it added.

Details of the evacuation spread quickly on social media.

Later on Thursday, the town council posted on social media: "A report received from a member of public was investigated and was found to be unfounded.

"As a result, beach users were able to continue swimming and enjoying the area as normal."

It said with current weather conditions remaining dry, the likelihood of storm overflow discharges was reduced.

In a statement, the Environment Agency said: "We closely monitor bathing waters for any impact on water quality and confirm there was no sewage spill yesterday.

"If we suspect water quality will be impacted, we won't hesitate to issue advice against swimming and promote that advice on our Swimfo webpage and through council beach signage."