RNLI calls for beaches without lifeguards to be shut after three sea deaths

Thousands of sunseekers basked in the gorgeous May sunshine today as they hit beaches despite pleas from search and rescue chiefs to keep coastlines without lifeguards shut following three sea deaths this week. West Wittering beach in West Sussex is opening for the first time since being shut more than two months ago Southend seafront in Essex was packed today as people looked to soak up the sun, with temperatures reaching 81F today It wasn't just the beach itself that was busy in Southend, with the prom full of people, including some tucking in to some fish and chips A busy beach at the seaside resort of West Bay in Dorset is full of families and sunbathers on a day of scorching hot sunshine and clear blue skies An RNLI rescue boat overlooks a packed-out beach as people play on the sand at Exmouth beach in Devon on Wednesday Weston-super-Mare beach in Somerset was busy today, but people managed to social distance while enjoying the warm weather People flocked to Exmouth Beach in Devon, building sandcastles and setting up windbreakers during the nice weather on Wednesday Today, West Wittering beach in West Sussex opened for the first time since being shut more than two months ago on March 21 after it faced huge crowds before the coronavirus lockdown was implemented days later. It shows for today there are no spaces Locals have been left furious after thousands of tourists flocked to the beach at West Wittering on Wednesday afternoon Some visitors have even had the audacity to park on the side of the roads outside people's houses in the small West Sussex village Cars pull into the car park at West Wittering Beach on Wednesday afternoon Retired Paddy Morton, 83, said she is worried about the potential spread of the virus. Property maintenance worker Billy Brazil, 25, travelled to West Wittering today with partner Enola Smith, 20, from his home in Effingham, 70 miles away in Surrey - only to discover car park users had to pre-book Retired retail boss Mr Regan and his wife, an education charity worker, live in Guildford, Surrey, and have a holiday home in Witterings, with an annual car parking pass for the beach His wife, a West Wittering Parish Councillor, said: 'The way I look at it, you have to introduce sensible ways of reopening the car park. Swimmers take to the Serpentine swimming lake in Hyde Park, central London, on another splendid day in the capital today People enjoy the hot weather along the banks of the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on Wednesday afternoon People enjoy the hot weather along the banks of the River Thames in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, on Wednesday afternoon Unused boats sit on the Serpentine in Hyde Park in central London today as walkers stroll by during the hot weather today Paddle boarders practise social distancing as they make their way along the Basingstoke Canal near to Dogmersfield in Hampshire today A man lies on his back asleep while a woman sits up in the sunny weather in Henley-on-Thames in Oxfordshire on Wednesday Swimmers in the Serpentine swimming lake in Hyde Park in central London take a dip to cool down during a hot day in the capital Tents set up on the beach with camp fires ablaze at Abbotsbury in Dorset as darkness falls where camping is not permitted last night In Abbotsbury, Dorset, a tent is erected with a windbreaker and mounds of fire wood, despite people not allowed to camp on the beach there Sunseekers headed to Bournemouth beach in Dorset again yesterday to enjoy the clear blue skies and unbroken sunshine Children played in the water yesterday at Margate beach in Kent during what is the half-term period for many schools People queue up for free pizza and refreshments in Trafalgar Square, central London, where Pandemic Pizza and Trafalgar Square Refreshment Hub have teamed up to provide homeless people with refreshments Cornwall Councillor Pete Mitchell, whose patch includes Chapel Porth, said it was a 'perfect storm'.