Teams of lifeguards will take up their posts on Brighton & Hove’s beaches this weekend (Saturday 25 May) kicking off the summer season.
The 23 new recruits will be joining Brighton & Hove City Council’s seafront team, to help ensure millions of visitors enjoy a safe and happy time on the beach this summer. Many of the lifeguards will be familiar to regular beachgoers as they return to the job they enjoyed last year.
The new lifeguards will patrol the city’s beaches from the Marina to Hove Lagoon. During the summer holidays, from 20 July, lifeguards will be patrolling the beaches at Saltdean, Rottingdean, Ovingdean and further into Hove.
The team, of male and female lifeguards, have all successfully completed a beach lifeguard qualification and induction course acquiring a wide range of skills from assessing sea and weather conditions and dealing with beach hazards, to carrying out first aid and water rescues.
Every summer Brighton & Hove’s lifeguards deal with hundreds of incidents and save many lives. During last year’s summer season they:
- carried out 86 water rescues – around one every five days
- saved 24 lives
- administered first aid to around 238 beach goers
- helped find 226 missing people
- tackled 117 incidents of anti-social behaviour
- handled 127 wildlife incidents
- dealt with 24 mental health incidents
- provided 36,101 preventative actions – one every 11 minutes
Easy to spot in their red and yellow uniforms, the lifeguards will be on duty each day from 10am to 7pm, supporting the council’s year-round seafront team.
Cllr Alan Robins, chair of the Tourism, Development and Culture Committee, said: “Once again we are delighted to have recruited a dedicated team of lifeguards to patrol our popular beaches.
“The new lifeguards are committed to supporting our regular seafront officers in ensuring the millions of visitors from all over the world who flock to our beaches every summer return home safe and happy.”