Brighton and Hove’s lifeguards will be back on our beaches from tomorrow (Saturday 25 May).
Lifeguards dealt with more than 60 major incidents last year, saved 30 lives and helped to find 90 missing people, Brighton and Hove City Council said.
The new recruits, employed by the council, will patrol the busiest beaches from tomorrow and even more beaches from Saturday 20 July to coincide with the start of the school summer holidays.
The lifeguards will be on duty from 10.30am to 6pm or 10.30am to 5.30pm each day, depending on the location, and will be based in lifeguard observation towers.
Councillor Birgit Miller, the council’s cabinet member for culture, heritage and tourism, said: “We are delighted to have funded our lifeguard service this year and recruited a dedicated team of new and returning lifeguards to patrol our popular beaches.
“We are also pleased to be working in partnership with the volunteers from Brighton RNLI this year, sharing knowledge and training to help save lives at sea.
“Our lifeguards are committed to supporting our regular seafront officers in ensuring the millions of residents and visitors who flock to our beaches every summer return home safe and happy.”
The council said that all the lifeguards had successfully completed a beach lifeguard qualification and an induction course with the council’s seafront team.
They had also undergone training with volunteers from Brighton RNLI (Royal National Lifeboat Institution).
The training covers a wide range of skills from assessing sea and weather conditions and dealing with beach hazards to carrying out first aid and water rescues.
Brighton and Hove has an eight-mile – or 13km – coastline and the council urged beachgoers to swim between the red and yellow marker flags for their safety.
To find out more about the times and places where lifeguards are on duty, click here.
The council has been in talks with the RNLI about the lifeboat charity taking over the running of the beach lifeguard service from next summer under contract.
The charity is already the beach lifeguard provider for dozens of other councils using a mix of paid staff and volunteers.
A report to councillors last month set out some of the key requirements of an RNLI lifeguard.
These included the ability to swim 400 metres in under 7 minutes and 30 seconds and to run 200 metres – on sand – in under 40 seconds.
The report did not say whether there was any requirement to be able to run a set distance in a set time on pebbles and small stones – a shore test for Brighton and Hove.
I’m glad Labour reversed the Green’s decision to remove lifeguards. Also – a shore test for Brighton and Hove? I see what you did there Felice!