Stormwatchers ‘dicing with disaster’ at seaside

STORMWATCHERS have been accused of dicing with disaster as huge waves crashed around them at the height of Sunday’s Storm Bella.

The St Ives Lifeboat was standing by ready to respond to any emergencies as a couple at Bamaluz Point, St Ives clambered onto rocks within feet of the boiling sea, as Force 11 winds raged.

Meanwhile, a woman in Sennen Cove near Land’s End said she was shocked and appalled after two children were seen playing dangerously next to the surf – as their parents sat in their vehicle.

The incident was caught on camera and has been published on social media. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, said they could have been swept in and put other people’s lives in danger.

It happened amid warnings from coastguards to stay away from the sea during stormy conditions.

The woman said: “We were driving through the cove and saw two figures running back and forth close to the sea. We parked in the car park and I said to my husband I’m going to go and see if anyone is with them.

“I walked to the steps down to the beach but I couldn’t see their parents. I then saw them by the surf hire and thought the children must have run on ahead.

“I thought they were going to go and tell them off, but instead they got into their car.

“I have lived by the sea my whole life and know the severity of the surf and what it can do. I was shocked and mortified that two small children, who must have been under 10, were playing by the water’s edge.”

The woman then confronted the parents about their reckless behaviour and the dangers of the sea.

She said: “I said, ‘do you know how dangerous it is letting your children play there? A freak wave could pull them in’.

“I basically said if the local lifeboat is called out then they’re putting other people’s lives at risk.”

She said the children’s parents, who claimed they lived locally, basically asked her to “mind her own business”.

She explained: “They said it’s no different than you driving your car and having an accident and my friend in the ambulance service having to rescue you.”

She basically said they didn’t understand the difference between having an accident and taking risks to stop an accident from happening.

She added: “I just want to make people aware. There are silly people around. I am absolutely shocked. I don’t understand some people’s mentality, putting other people’s lives at risk is not acceptable, especially considering the situation we’re all in at the moment.”