Liberal Democrat Cornwall councillors have slammed their Conservative opponents claiming that a statement issued about beach lifeguards could have put lives at risk.

The Conservative group at County Hall issued a press release last night claiming that RNLI lifeguards would be at "most" beaches from this weekend.

However, the lifeguards are only set to be in place at seven beaches this weekend – Widemouth, Gwithian, Fistral, Mawgan Porth, Polzeath, Constantine and Perranporth.

The news comes after two people died in accidents on the water last weekend and a man was left in serious condition after being rescued by surfers.

Conservative councillor Mark Formosa claimed in the erroneous press release that he had "predicted" the tragic events last weekend.

He was quoted as saying: "I am delighted that the RNLI is finally getting its act together to provide the professional life-saving personnel we need on our beaches as they become increasingly busy with the easing of the lockdown.

"It will be of little comfort to the families of those who died or were injured last weekend when lifeguards were scandalously absent from our beaches but hopefully this will help to prevent further tragedies occurring this summer."

The Conservatives' false claim of RNLI lifeguards was shared across social media.

Lib Dem councillor Rob Nolan, a Cabinet member for public safety, said:

"This was a dangerous and misleading statement for Cllr Formosa to make. The RNLI has confirmed this morning that the Conservatives 'have jumped the gun' and are wrong and that it will be seven beaches from this weekend, including Fistral, with more to come.

"This is a matter of public safety and it's important that we all give a clear message on which beaches have RNLI cover."

Geoff Brown, Newquay Lib Dem councillor and Cabinet member for transport, said:

"As someone who has spent a lifetime promoting and delivering beach safety, I was deeply concerned at the irresponsible claim by Cllr Formosa that most beaches in Cornwall will have lifeguard cover from today.

"The reality is that only seven Cornish beaches will see lifeguards this weekend including Fistral and Mawgan Porth in the Newquay area.

"I have already expressed my concerns that Crantock, which due to the ever-changing river system is one of our more dangerous beaches, requires lifeguard cover. I was assured to learn from the RNLI that Crantock is in the next phase of eight beaches which will be added shortly.

"Many local surfers are highly experienced and rarely create problems for the emergency services but for other beach-goers please take care. Statistics show that you are 500 times more likely to get into difficulty in the sea at a beach without a lifeguard so please use a lifeguarded beach wherever possible or stay safe and keep out of the water."