A Dorset council has voted to permanently ban two sea rafts from returning to a popular beach destination, bringing an end to an 86-year tradition.
Weymouth Council made the decision after legal advice warned the floating platforms, positioned 275 metres offshore from Greenhill Beach since 1939, represent a "significant risk to the public".
Members of the Liberal Democrat-controlled authority were told they could face criminal prosecution if a serious incident occurred, with lawyers concluding removal of the rafts was the sole legally defensible course of action.
The move follows guidance from the RNLI, which flagged concerns that the pontoons sat beyond the area covered by beach lifeguards.
A report compiled by council officer Ian Milne described the rafts as an "artificial offshore attraction rather than a natural feature of the sea," distinguishing them from other coastal hazards.
The document emphasised health and safety breaches constitute a criminal offence, with prosecution possible "even without an incident", where serious dangers remain unaddressed.
Mr Milne's assessment concluded: "On the present evidence, the removal of the rafts is not simply the lowest-risk option, but the only option which reduces risk to a level that is reasonably defensible in law."
Following the RNLI's prior advice, the platforms were deemed to fall outside of lifeguards' "primary response area," creating an unacceptable safety gap.
The pontoons off Greenhill beach were removed due to health and safety fears
|Weymouth Town Council
The decision has provoked fury among beachgoers, who point out the rafts have witnessed no accidents throughout their eight-decade history.
One resident, Christine James, said: "The rafts are apparently dangerous yet they have been there for over 80 years and haven't been deemed dangerous before.
"The council is running scared of health and safety. Anybody who goes into the sea does so at their own risk. Why can't the council just put up signs saying 'use the rafts at your own risk'?"
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Close to 3,000 residents have signed a petition demanding the pontoons be reinstated, branding the council's stance an "overreaction".
Members of the Weymouth Bluetits swimming club even staged a sea protest last year following the initial removal, calling for the platforms to be restored.
Amid the backlash, a council spokesman acknowledged the decision had been "agonising", and was "not one that has been taken lightly".
Members of the Weymouth Bluetits swimming club staged a protest last year against the raft removal
|WEYMOUTH BLUETITS
The spokesman explained solicitors had determined effective safety measures for the rafts were "not realistically deliverable in practice" - a situation worsened by insurers withdrawing cover that cannot currently be restored.
The council confirmed it would face "significant liability risk" if the platforms were returned, with "key risks" remaining at the highest level.
The raft removal comes alongside the disappearance of pedalo boats from Weymouth beach, which were also withdrawn due to health and safety regulations.
Regardless of safety fears, the pedalos were rendered unviable when the small businesses which ran them failed as a result of suffocating tax hikes.