Lifeguards issue warning over children's safety

Lifeguards are urging families to take extra steps to ensure children stay safe on the beach after dealing with a large number of lost youngsters on Thursday.

RNLI lifeguards dealt with more than 20 missing children in Skegness, Lincolnshire, during the heatwave, while colleagues in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, responded to three incidents.

They are encouraging parents and carers to pick up Sandi Starfish wristbands from lifeguard units, which parents can write their contact details on.

Senior lifeguard Lois Kemp said all the children reported lost were reunited with their families and it was a "very happy ending".

Kemp, 27, from Louth, who is a senior lifeguard at Skegness beach, said Thursday was one of the busiest days of her past eight seasons in the role.

She said: "When it's low tide, there's obviously a much larger area of the beach, and then, because of that, children are much more likely to go into the sea," Kemp said.

"Then they end up getting out of the water at a completely different location than they went in and they get a bit disorientated.

"That's where we come in and we give them a hand trying to find their parents again."

Kemp said the wristbands would have shortened the duration of the incidents and reduced parental stress.

The wristband scheme "also gives children a nudge to think about losing you in the first place", the RNLI said.

Chris Feeley, of Bridlington RNLI, said: "It is all too easy to become separated from your children on a very busy beach, and it can be extremely distressing for everyone involved."

He said the organisation had thousands of free wristbands available for parents and carers.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, and watch the latest episode of Look North.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices