Lifeguards preparing for busy summer

LIFEGUARDS are preparing for a busy start to the season, as the easing of Covid-19 lockdown measures coincides with Easter school holidays and improving weather.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has been working with partners behind the scenes through the challenges of lockdown to recruit, train and prepare their lifeguards for what is expected to be another busy summer on beaches across the South West.

The charity says it will deliver its usual lifeguard service across the UK and Channel Islands this year in its standard phased approach.

In the South West, RNLI lifeguards will begin patrolling 22 beaches across Cornwall, Devon, Dorset and the Channel Islands from Good Friday, on April 2, covering the Easter holidays.

For the first time this will include Exmouth in Devon and Weymouth in Dorset.

The number of beaches will increase through the season until the peak school summer holidays when 87 beaches across the region will be patrolled.

In 2020, RNLI lifeguards covering the South West saved 56 lives, aided 9,179 people and responded to 6,287 incidents which included water rescues, minor first aid and helping to reunite missing children with their families.

Oliver Shilston, RNLI Lead Lifeguard Supervisor, said: “RNLI lifeguards are at the forefront of the charity’s lifesaving work, offering preventative safety advice to visitors and rescuing those in difficulty in the water.

Not only do they receive the best training but the best equipment too, so they are able to deal with any emergency situations as professional first responders.”

The RNLI is encouraging the public to follow government advice on social distancing, travel and contact with others when visiting the beach to keep themselves and the lifeguards safe.

Steve Instance, RNLI Water Safety Lead for the South West, said: “It is important to remember it can be an unpredictable and dangerous environment.”