Concerns over steep Nice beaches

TOURISTS in Nice have discovered that they face an unexpected holiday problem - getting out of the sea.

Bathers have complained that they have had to crawl out of the sea on their hands and knees, local newspaper Nice Matin has reported.

The newspaper said it has received complaints from readers. One said she was concerned about “sprains, fractures and even drowning”.

Another posted: “Start training, people, next year the beach will be vertical.”

One reader urged authorities to install ropes to help swimmers haul themselves out of the water. Ropes were previously used in the early part of the 20th century.

Another suggested that escalators could be used.

Some accused local authorities of failing to take action - but the city said that bulldozers flattened the beaches at 5am every day. But it said that the sea has time to create a new steep wall of pebbles by the time holidaymakers arrive at the beach, long after the bulldozers have left.

Pebbles have been regularly replaced over the past 30 years as part of a major effort to maintain the beaches - but it is now suspected that the efforts to replenish and smooth the seashore may have exacerbated the problem, as the pebbles have become more liable to be swept away by autumn and winter storms and by tidal surges.

Photo: Jimmy Harris