Workers say looking for lost children takes up a lot of time

The look-out at Ingoldmells Point near Skegness is manned by volunteers, 10 hours a day.

Most of the cases involved lost children, but the volunteers also helped in a rescue operation in August.

The beach, owned by Laver Leisure which runs a nearby caravan site, would not have any safety measures without it as the firm cannot get insurance.

Expensive insurance

Geoff Wilson, manager of Laver said: "This is something that has been looked at.

"Our directors have approached the insurance company and they have said because of the liability situation it would not provide us with any cover for lifeguards or any other situations with the public on the front."

John Gifford, from the National Coastwatch Institution, said the most urgent issue was setting up a point of contact for children and their families when they become separated on the beach.

He said: "We have had a very major distraction with lost children, not seriously lost and they are a distraction to what we are really there for.

"So, we are going to have a talk with the owners of the beaches to see what can be done about this."