Lifeguard dog banned from beach - Pet insurance for dogs

Posted : 19-05-2008

The UK's only lifeguard dog will have to hang up his armbands and Baywatch costume after being banned from the beach, it has been reported.

Bilbo, a 14-stone Newfoundland, has been banned from Sennen in west Cornwall by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which has recently taken over safety at the beach, reports the BBC.

Previously, the dog, who has his own yellow jacket and rescue float, would ride on the lifeguards all terrain bikes.

However, the RNLI has said this is presents safety problems and revealed that because Bilbo is not a working dog, his owner Steve Jamieson faces a £75 fine if he takes the animal on the beach.

Mr Jamieson said he was "dumbstruck" at the decision and claimed that Bilbo was the "biggest asset for beach safety".

Steve Instance, the RNLI's lifeguard inspector for the south-west, told the news provider: "Bilbo is a fantastic asset and we have told Mr Jamieson he can use him for PR work and safety education in schools.

"But it is not suitable for the RNLI to have him as an operational lifeguard."

Earlier this year, a book about the life of the heroic hound, called the True Story of Bilbo the Surf Lifeguard Dog, was published.

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