Bathers this year will notice some bright new signs on the island's beaches. A new rule has been introduced so that the local authorities have to classify all their beaches into 3 different safety categories. Beaches with low risk to bathers will have a one orange lifejacket sign, medium risk will have two lifejackets and a high risk beach will have three orange lifejackets.
Depending on the classification the council will have to provide human and material resources to ensure adequate cover for any eventuality. The criteria which will decide the level of risk are; historical incidents, nearby population centres, sea conditions, physical characteristics of the beach and the number of visitors. So our beaches should be safer than ever this year.