PARENTS visiting Burnham beach are being urged to keep a close eye on their children following a spate of missing children reports in one day across the UK coast.

The UK Coastguard issued the safety plea for parents after responding to nine separate missing children reports in one day on Monday.

All the children were found safe and well, but with so many reports coming in during the day, many UK Coastguard rescue teams have increased their regular patrols and stayed near beaches in case of further emergencies.

Dai Jones, duty controller for the UK Coastguard said: "We have had quite a few calls about missing children in the last 12 hours.

"It was a beautiful day on Monday and it has been very busy, where we have responded to at least nine call outs for missing children.

"It is always a huge worry when children go missing near the beach - not just for the parents but for the emergency services as well.

"There is always a possibility that children will stray too close to the sea and without proper supervision anything can happen.

"We urge parents or guardians to make sure that their children are well supervised at the coast. If you can, head for a RNLI life guarded beach – there are over 210 across the UK coast – and agree a recognisable meeting point.

"Show your children the nearest lifeguard station and tell your children to head there and tell a lifeguard if they get lost.

"Busy beaches can disorientate people, especially children, so take advantage of local wristband schemes for younger children."