PRESS RELEASE
RNLI lifeguards back scheme to keep children safe at the beach
Deborah Heaton-Caffin, Lifeguard Press Officer, 20/8/09
Families visiting lifeguarded beaches in East Lindsey are being encouraged to keep their children safe by taking advantage of a wristband scheme operated by HM Coastguard and RNLI lifeguards.
Reuniting lost children with their parents is a common task for RNLI lifeguards who are this year based on beaches in Mablethorpe, Sutton-on-Sea and Skegness.
RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor Kelly Blackburn said: 'So far this season we have dealt with more than 80 cases of lost children on the three beaches and we urge parents to take advantage of the wristbands.'
Introduced by the Coastguard service, the brightly coloured paper wristbands are easily attachable and feature space for parents to write their mobile phone number. They are available for collection at any of the RNLI lifeguard units along the beaches.
Sam Jessop, Sector Manager for Yarmouth Coastguard explained the wristbands are a simple way of tackling the significant problem of missing children. She said: 'The wristbands don't stop children wandering off of course, but what they do is save parents that horrible dread which comes when you realise your child is nowhere in sight.
'We refer to these incidents as lost children but, because we have found the child what we are actually dealing with is missing parents so if the child has a wristband on we can reunite them fairly swiftly.'
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Four-year-old twins Brooke and Harrison Hirst show off their wristbands with Skegness RNLI lifeguard Emma Rawlins. (Credit: RNLI)
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