News Archive
RNLI Joins Forces with Scarborough Council for Lifeguards in North & South Bay
23rd Mar 2009
Many visitors to our Scarborough hotels will see a increased number of Lifeguards as the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has join forces with the council to provide lifeguards on the North and South Bay.
Scarborough Council currently employs 16 lifeguards on its busiest beaches for the 16-week high season, from May until September. The RNLI will provide a like-for-like service and will be liaising with those employees as the recruitment programme gets under way.
The RNLI already provides lifeguards on more than 100 beaches in the south west of England, Norfolk and Wales and from this summer the charity will take over the responsibility for patrolling Scarborough, Whitby and Filey beaches.
Carl Harris, RNLI deputy divisional lifeguard manager, North, told the Scarborough Evening News: ‘We are delighted the council has taken steps to bring the RNLI’s quality lifeguard training and equipment to its beaches, enabling us to make a significant difference in terms of safety. The RNLI’s aim to provide a seamless rescue service from the beach to the open sea is being realised on this stretch of the Yorkshire coast, thanks to the forward-thinking local authority.
“In 2008, RNLI lifeguards assisted more than 11,000 people staying at seaside resort hotels. With beaches becoming more crowded, patrolling lifeguards get to casualties faster which helps us to save even more lives. We are confident that by continuing and improving the lifeguard service in Yorkshire, the RNLI can not only help save lives but can prevent incidents from happening.”
Andrew Williams, the council’s leisure manager also said: “The Beach Lifeguard Service provides a very important service to prevent and respond to incidents. We are pleased to work with the RNLI and are confident they will be able to further develop the service.”
