Pandemic meant no lifeguards at Cornish beaches when three died, inquest hears

The inquest heard seasonal lifeguards were not allowed to be furloughed, so some went to find other work during the Covid crisis. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

Three men drowned off Cornish beaches at a time when the Royal National Lifeboat Institution’s lifeguard service was affected by the Covid pandemic, a coroner has said.

The senior Cornwall coroner, Andrew Cox, said he would write to the UK government and to the UK Covid-19 inquiry to highlight issues raised during the inquest into the deaths of the three men.