SWIMMERS are dicing with death by diving off Bournemouth and Boscombe piers to cool off as the South Coast continues to sizzle in tropical temperatures.

And they are also risking the lives of other beach-goers by diverting lifeguards away from their normal duties as resources are stretched to the limit.

The RNLI's beach rescue lifeguard manager Barry Heathfield said: "Every day scores of youngsters are taking terrible risks by diving off the piers, sometimes jumping into waist-high water.

"On Sunday a man dislocated his shoulder after jumping from Boscombe pier. The majority of kids listen when lifeguards warn them of the possible dangers but there are the few who won't.

"Swimmers have been very badly injured in past years jumping off the piers and the same could happen this summer, or even worse, if people don't heed our warnings.

"When they are injured they are only too happy to come to us for help."

Barry added: "What concerns me most is that a lot of lifeguards' time is being wasted and their attentions diverted from members of the public who might need their help."

He admitted that the 50 lifeguards on duty along the bay were already stretched to the limit as tens of thousands of sun-worshippers congregate on the beach every day.

"I've been here since 1994 and this is the busiest summer I've ever known," said Barry.

Yesterday we revealed that the summer craze of jumping into the sea had left a young woman injured after she leapt off a cliff.

And youngsters had been risking their lives by diving into the water from locations such as Swanage cliffs and Poole quay and bridge.

Children are also dicing with danger by swimming close to boat propellers just a month after Londoner Wais Kakar, 27, died in a collision with a boat after swimming out from Bournemouth beach.

Police at Wareham have warned people not to jump into the River Frome from the bridge and quayside.