The water in Boscombe beach was evacuated due to reports of a possible shark being spotted just offshore.
On Wednesday 4 August, those at Boscombe beach were enjoying a day out with the warm summer weather when the there was an order from the lifeguards to evacuate the water. The swimmers had to quickly leave the water as there were reports of a ‘large animal’ within the water, there was no confirmed sighting but most who were there believe it may have been a shark.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were called and they arrived on scene hastily to control the situation and search for the reported animal. The beach was red flagged while the search went underway and lifeguards referred to the sighting as a “large marine animal” to avoid causing a panic and scaring any children who had been enjoying the water.
Eventually, the public was allowed to re-enter the water after 30 minutes when the search party had found no trace of a shark or any dangerous animals. Response from the public towards the RNLI was positive and most who were present felt that they had handled the situation well, after the search party had left the RNLI reminded everyone to report any concerns about wildlife to the lifeguards as soon as possible.