HOLIDAYMAKERS are being warned not to do one common activity at the beach.
Beach days are always fun, especially in the summer with the family – but the public are being warned to never dig a large hole in the sand in one part of the UK.
This is because a large hole can collapse in on itself and could pose the risk of trapping someone, including kids and pets.
The fresh warning comes from the coastguard at Cleethorpes, a popular seaside town destination with a four-mile beach, traditional pier and family-friendly activities, making it the ideal day out.
According to the BBC, Cleethorpes Coastguard deputy station manager Shaun Lee said: “It’s like an avalanche effect, where the sand just keeps collapsing and collapsing, and then people just get completely buried in it.
He explained that when a hole is dug with steep sides, the wet sand will dry out and make it looser and as a result, more prone to collapsing.
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He added: “We don’t want to be the fun police – just be aware of what you are doing if you are digging holes.”
Also in Lincolnshire, last year coastguards filled a hole in Sandilands Beach that was nearly two metres deep.
At the time, the coastguards said they filled the hole “for safety reasons”.
Last June, the coastguard filled a hole on Weymouth Beach as well, which was around 1.5metres deep.
It took the coastguard three people and 30 minutes to fill.
Senior Coastal Operations Officer Allan Norman, at HM Coastguard, said: “Buckets and spades are a lot of fun – but most of us wouldn’t dream of digging a 5ft deep hole at a park where youngsters are running about and people walk in the evening.
“It’s the same at busy beaches: deep holes can be hard to spot in the sand and pose the risk of someone falling in and being injured, particularly little children and older people.
“There’s also the danger of the sand collapsing on top of you, causing injury and suffocation.
“These incidents require whole teams of rescuers.
“We’d just ask people to stay aware of who else is on the beach and the potential risks of digging too deep.”
Even though beachgoers are warned against creating large holes at the beach, it doesn’t mean you can’t dig them at all.
Allan advises to just not dig it deeper than waist height and to avoid digging tunnels, which are even more likely to collapse.
He added that you should fill the hole in before you leave the beach.
If you do happen to be caught in a situation where you get stuck in a large hole on the beach, GOV.UK recommends creating a circle of people around the hole, who dig with their hands to create an outer circle.
Then create another circle of people behind that circle, but they will be removing the sand dug from the first circle.
By creating multiple circles, it will make the original hole bigger and more shallow and as a result, it will be less likely to collapse.
In other beach news, here are our 26 must-visit UK beaches for 2026 – including tropical-feel spots and family-friendly finds.
Plus, here’s the UK’s warmest beach that’s also home to two of the ‘most idyllic holiday homes’ and you can stay from just £30pp a night.