Normal dogs are banned from a beach in Cornwall, but Newfoundland lifeguard dog Bilbo got round that by sitting in his owner's beach buggy during patrols.

But when officials decided that wasn't safe, Bilbo was banned too.

However, around 10,000 people have signed a petition to get him classed as a working dog to see him back on patrol. If he wasn't an official working dog, Bilbo's lifeguard owner Steve Jamieson would be fined £75 every time Bilbo was spotted on the beach. 

However, to the delight of his supporters across the world, it has been confirmed that Bilbo has prevailed and will now be allowed to return to Sennen beach and others where he is credited with having directly taken part in at least three rescues as well as indirectly saving scores more from getting into difficulties.

Owner Steve Jamieson is Britain's longest-serving lifeguard and area supervisor for the RNLI. He is responsible for beach safety on the western tip of Cornwall and said he was delighted at the decision.

"The people not just in Cornwall but the whole of the UK have taken Bilbo to their hearts and, in the end, something had to be done about it. The council and the RNLI have done a stalwart job while Bilbo is ecstatic that he will be able to get back on the beach," he said.(Independent)

Problems started when Bilbo, who had earlier been banned from riding the lifeguards' quad bike because of health and safety reasons, fell foul of blue flag regulations that excluded all dogs except guide dogs from the sands. A compromise was eventually reached allowing him to "work" on a part-time basis.

But supporters argued that Bilbo's track record diving into the foaming depths, warding off swimmers on rough days and his vital role showing bathers they should only swim between the safety flags, should make him a permanent exception to the no-dogs rule.

Bilbo has spent recent years visiting schools helping children learn the basic rules of safety around water. At Sennen beach, before Bilbo's arrival, lifeguards would make between 20 to 30 rescues each season. That fell to 12 and, in his last full year, lifeguards were called on to make just a single intervention.

Read about the story last year and watch his video