Calls for leg rope safety education after Byron Bay surfer suffers serious injuries

Phil Jarratt finds a crowd-free wave. He says surfing without a leg rope is too risky at busy breaks. (Supplied)

A prominent member of the Australian surfing community is reluctantly calling for leg ropes to be mandatory in certain conditions. 

Phil Jarratt — a surfer of almost 60 years and former president of the Noosa World Surfing Reserve — has made the call after intense crowding at Queensland breaks for big swell created by ex-Tropical Cyclone Gabrielle.