Brighton and Hove City Council has just announced that the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) will take over the training and managing of the city’s lifeguards from the council’s Seafront Office. Last season, the Office employed around 40 lifeguards working across ten different beach areas. One of the key requirements for an RNLI lifeguard is to be able run 200m on sand in under 40 seconds - not that he/she will find much sand to run on in Brighton.
The RNLI already manages lifeguard services around the country at more than 200 beaches. The charity says its lifeguards dealt with over 2,000 incidents in 2023, assisted nearly 2,500 people in the south east of England alone, and saved 14 lives.
This week, Councillor Birgit Miller said: ‘Thousands of people visit our glorious seafront each summer and keeping them safe and happy is a huge priority for us. With council budgets continually stretched, we wanted to look at how we could continue to provide a high-quality seasonal service, while getting the best possible value for money for our residents. By working in partnership with the RNLI, which has a proven track record of working with local authorities, we can maintain the current level of service and provide value for money, but also benefit from best practice and knowledge built up over decades.’
Although the council has not announced the financials of its agreement with the RNLI, a report prepared last April by the council revealed that the cost of the lifeguard service that summer, as managed by the Seafront Office, would be £482,193.
The report also provided more details of the then current operation. The Seafront Office, with seven core staff, is responsible for the end-to-end lifeguard recruitment process, lifeguard inductions, weekly training and management of the operation. Moreover, it is responsible for managing and maintaining a controlled and safe seafront environment, daily patrols, incident management, stakeholder engagement, byelaw enforcement, seafront maintenance, public safety and incident prevention throughout the year.
- water safety advice
- drowning prevention
- emergency response to water-based incidents,
- emergency response to life-threatening land-based incidents
- minor first aid
- missing persons search and reunite
- sun safety advice, weather and tide information
- hazard identification
- byelaw enforcement on beach (including dogs and barbecues)
Fun fact about RNLI lifeguards: They don’t just rescue humans - they’ve also helped rescue some unexpected animals, such as deer, seals, a terrapin, and even a water-logged puffin! They’ve also become experts at catching runaway inflatable pool toys like unicorns, donuts, and flamingos that get swept out to sea.
NB: More about the history of the RNLI in Brighton coming later in January.
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