Safety wristband scheme back along 15-mile seafront
BCP CouncilA beach wristband scheme to help reunite lost children and vulnerable adults with their parents or carers has returned to Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole for the summer.
The safety scheme run by Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole (BCP) Council is in place across a 15 mile (24km) stretch of coastline.
Parents or guardians put their phone number and location on the wristband. If they become separated, a lifeguard or seafront ranger can call them and bring them back together.
The free wristbands for the LV= KidZone scheme can be collected from all seafront offices and RNLI lifeguard towers until 31 August.
Kester Sheppard, RNLI lead lifeguard supervisor for East Dorset's beaches, said: "With the spells of hot weather we've had already this season, the beaches have been busy and it's so easy to lose a child in just a moment.
"These wristbands are so useful for our lifeguards because it's quicker and easier to reunite children with their parents with minimal distress."
The wristbands will be available across the following beaches:
- Bournemouth: Alum Chine through to Fisherman's Walk, Southbourne
- Christchurch: Avon, Friars Cliff, Highcliffe
- Poole: Sandbanks, Shore Road, Branksome Chine
About 130 lost people were reunited with their families through the wristband scheme last year.