US Beaches Ban Bucket-and-spade Brigade

First it was killer sharks. Then it was killer bees. Now American holidaymakers heading for the beach this summer are being warned to watch out for another lethal hazard: killer sandcastles.

The US bucket-and-spade patrol went on full alert today after national media flagged up research by a top physician, published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Dr Bradley Maron, of Harvard Medical School, revealed that people falling into holes dug in the sand had accounted for more fatalities in the US since 1990 than shark attacks - 16 as opposed to 12, according to statistics collected by the University of Florida.

Sand holes and tunnels, the by-product of sandcastle-building and other juvenile beach fortifications, could turn into death-traps with horrifying speed, Dr Maron warned.

"Typically, victims became completely submerged in the sand when the walls of the hole unexpectedly collapsed, leaving virtually no evidence of the hole or location of the victim."

Although such incidents were extremely rare, Dennis Arnold, who runs a beach patrol on Martha's Vineyard, off Cape Cod in Massachusetts, said lifeguards at the Edgartown resort were under standing orders to stop children digging deep holes.

If a hole was more than waist-deep, the perpetrators were instructed to fill it in, he said. Occasionally some parents protest.

"They'll say 'You're ruining my kid's day!' and I say 'I don't care!'" Mr Arnold was quoted as saying.

More unlikely seaside perils await the unwary further south in Florida. According to a report from Sarasota County today, marine researchers are worried about an epidemic of dolphin bites.

Experts say the normally chummy mammals have become used to being fed by people - so when a hand is extended for petting purposes, or a foot is left dangling, they may think it is food.

"These are wild animals with lots of sharp teeth," researcher Jason Allen told the Local News 6 channel.

Feeding, harassing, and swimming with dolphins are illegal in Sarasota County. Dolphin-stalking is also deemed a crime.