Three-Quarters Of Britons Confused By Beach Safety Flags Colours
Half of Britons feel poorly informed about beach safety, and three quarters do not know the colour of beach safety flags, a Sky Data Snap Poll reveals.
Some 50% of the public say they know little or nothing about safety flags at the beach, while 45% say they are very or fairly well informed.
When asked, however, just 26% knew the colour of the flags which indicate where it is safe to swim on beaches with lifeguards.
The flags are red and yellow - 48% said they did not know the answer, while 18% incorrectly guessed blue and yellow, 4% red and 3% red and green.
And even of those who said they feel well-informed, less than half (45%) knew the colour of the flags.
Young people were less well informed than their elders.
Only a quarter (26%) of under-34s said they were well-informed about beach safety flags, compared with just over half for older people.
This follows the deaths of five young men at Camber Sands, where lifeguards will now patrol over the weekend.
A brother of one of the men said what happened showed the importance of placing lifeguards at popular beaches.
Half of Britons (49%) said they would feel unsafe swimming in the sea with no lifeguard, while 45% said they would feel safe.
Men were far more likely to feel safe than women (53% of men would feel safe compared with 36% of women).
Sky Data polled 1,075 people for the survey.