Sandbanks are getting larger, Lynn News Letters
This means that some of them get trapped on these banks so the RNLI lifeboat, hovercraft and coastguards have to go out to rescue them. Also William Searle often picks them up too when he is doing his boat trips.
These sandbanks are an attraction to people but they are also very dangerous. Up until 1990 there were very few of these sandbanks but then the Environment Agency decided to to a year recycle of sand and shingle from Snettisham scalp onto the beaches at Snettisham, Heacham and Hunstanton South Beach to top up the sea defences. This is a very necessary operation but it is done at the wrong time of year, February and March, when there are high tides and rough weather so a lot of this sand is washed out to sea making the sandbanks much larger.If this operation was done in May/June time when the tides are much smaller it would give the sand time to settle before the high tides start again in August andnot much would get washed away.
I have approached the Environment Agency many times since 1990 about this, but they will not change their mind, so the sandbanks get bigger and more and more people have to be rescued.
Dick Melton
Hunstanton