Lifeguards ready to patrol Brighton and Hove beaches this summer

The new lifeguards will patrol the city’s beaches from the Marina to Hove Lagoon.

During the summer holidays, from July 20, lifeguards will also be patrolling the beaches at Saltdean, Rottingdean, Ovingdean and further into Hove.

The team of 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 and 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 and administered first aid to around 238 beach goers.

They helped find 226 missing people, tackled 117 incidents of anti-social behaviour, handled 127 wildlife incidents, dealt with 24 mental health incidents and provided 36,101 preventative actions – one every 11 minutes.

Easily 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.

Councillor 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.”