Beach Warden Patrols

The club will be undertaking voluntary Beach Warden patrols in line with the guidance from our governing body, Surf Life Saving Great Britain. This scheme allows us to use our experience and expertise to provide surveillance of the water as well as provide advice and guidance for water users where appropriate and safe to do so.  This is not a lifeguard patrol and there will be no capacity for rescue or first aid.  We would advise that there are no lifeguards on our beaches at the minute for very good reasons and people should avoid unnecessary water use wherever possible.  We would encourage people to follow the guidance below which is inline with other National Water Safety Forum members such as MCA, NFCC, RLSS, RNLI and Swim England.

Staying Safe at the Beach.

There are no lifeguards on our beaches

Protect Your Family - children should be within arms reach at all times

Follow Safety Advice - Stay together, don't use inflatables and be aware of tide times. 

If you fall in, float, breathe and relax

In an emergency dial 999 and ask for the Coastguard

FAQ

• Why aren’t you lifeguarding?

  As we are still at COVID alert level 4, social distancing must be preserved to prevent the spread of coronavirus. We are not able to carry out rescues or give first aid whilst maintaining this distance and PPE for these activities in this environment either doesn’t exist, or we are not suitably trained to use it. 

• Do you think the RNLI should have lifeguards on this beach?

  The RNLI are valuable local partners. Charities and employers big or small have a duty of care to their lifeguards whether they fulfil that role in a paid or voluntary capacity.  I believe they are working hard to get lifeguards on as many beaches as they can but the hours of training that were missed during lockdown will make it challenging to get the full service in place. We would urge people to follow the water safety messaging shared and not put more lives at risk.

• But if someone was drowning, you wouldn’t just watch would you?

  “A good lifeguard never gets wet” is a saying that I have heard many times before. It is underestimated how much of a lifeguards role is preventative action, talking to people making them aware of the dangers before they get themselves into a position which may lead to a rescue. Although we are not lifeguarding, this same thought process has a lot of weight. As Beach Wardens we are able to do lots of prevention and if something does go wrong, as a training and experience volunteer we would be well placed to get the necessary help to them as quickly as possible.