RNLI lifeguards ready for summer season on Dorset beaches
With the school summer holidays starting in Dorset next week, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution are encouraging anyone visiting the coast to head to a lifeguarded beach.
Lifeguards, who receive world class training and equipment, have been patrolling 22 beaches across Dorset and will continue to be present on them throughout the school holidays.
The RNLI lifeguards are taught a variety of life-saving techniques as well as advanced first aid skills so they provide much greater safety for sunbathers, swimmers and water sports enthusiasts at the beach. In 2016, Dorset RNLI lifeguards helped over two thousand beachgoers who got in to trouble on the beach, attending 2,137 incidents, rescuing 113 people and saving eight lives.
Mike Winter, RNLI lifeguard supervisor, said:
“We hope that over the summer holidays families will head down to the coast to enjoy some of our wonderful Dorset beaches. We’d urge anyone planning on visiting a beach to check local information in advance and head to a lifeguarded beach.
“The lifeguards use red and yellow flags to clearly show the area they are covering and we would urge swimmers to stay within these zones. If you see someone in difficulty raise the alarm by alerting a nearby lifeguard or calling 999 and asking for the coastguard”
Notes to editor:
The attached RNLI lifeguard picture should be credited RNLI Nathan Williams
Media contacts:
For more information please contact Oliver Wrynne-Simpson, RNLI Public Relations Officer on 07795127351 or 01202 336789 or by email on [email protected]
Key facts about the RNLI
The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.