Cornwall lighthouse off Land’s End sounds constant fog warning

Residents living near Land’s End have been advised to buy earplugs due to a lighthouse’s fog horn sounding every 13 seconds for the past week.

Trinity House, which manages more than 60 lighthouses across the UK, said there was an issue with the audible hazard warning signal on Longships Lighthouse.

The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) Gwennap Head said on social media the fog horn had been sounding “all day, all night” and “a set of ear plugs might be a good investment”.

A spokesperson for Trinity House said: “It will likely be an issue with the visibility sensor not functioning as expected.”

“The hazard warning signal indicates diminished visibility in the area, such as fog,” they added.

The weather conditions have not been foggy this week.

They said the company was making plans to put technicians on the lighthouse to attend to the fault.

David Hocking, of Land’s End Landmark, said: “It’s currently a bit of a talking point and conversation starter between staff and visitors.”

A visitor booked to stay in a hotel at the resort on Thursday and Friday night said the sound “will probably keep me awake”.

On Thursday evening another tourist reflected it was “the noisiest sunset I’ve seen so far”.

Longships Lighthouse, a 35m (115ft) tower, was built in 1875 and is about 2km (1.25 miles) off Land’s End.

It was manned by resident lighthouse keepers until it became automated in 1996.

Since then it has been monitored and controlled from Trinity House’s planning centre in Harwich, Essex.