VIDEO: Watch RNLI lifeguards training on Lincolnshire coast ahead of Bank Holiday

Lifeguards resumed a full-time lifesaving service at Skegness and Mablethorpe from Saturday, with Ingoldmells and Sutton-on-Sea on service in time for the school summer holidays.

Fifteen lifeguards have undergone training and on Friday it was time to put their skills to the test, including fitness, a rescue and use of the quad bike to get to an incident quickly.

Ahead of the Bank Holiday weekend and half-term holidays, the RNLI and HM Coastguard launched a new safety campaign, urging everyone to choose lifeguarded beaches when they visit the coast.

"We are expecting this summer to be the busiest ever for our lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crews," says Nick Ayers, RNLI Regional Water Safety Lead. "These new figures back that up.

"We want people to enjoy the coast but urge everyone to respect the water, think about their own safety and know what to do in an emergency.

"Our main advice is to visit a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags. RNLI lifeguards will be there to offer advice on how to stay safe and also help anyone who gets into trouble. The coast provides a great opportunity to enjoy fresh air and open space but can be an unpredictable and dangerous environment, particularly during early summer when air temperatures start warming up, but water temperatures remain dangerously cold, increasing the risk of cold water shock."

Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance (LNAA) is also preparing fr a busy summer. The LNAA will have a Critical Care Car dedicated to the east coast from June 1 and the helicopter will take over from June 21 until August 31.

The charity is already seeing a rise in missions across its patch and was deployed to 148 emergencies in April this year, compared with 49 over the same period in 2020.

NAA’s Medical Director, Doctor Gareth Davies, was the lead consultant on the Paddington rail disaster, was a medical commander at the 7/7 bombings and oversaw the team that treated the victims at the Westminster Bridge terror attacks in 2017. He said: “As Covid restrictions lift, this summer has the potential to be one like no other. There are of course many great things about that, but we are also mindful of why that could also mean more incidents where someone’s life is in danger in a busy tourist area like the Lincolnshire coast.

“The need for our service if what drives us and we must respond as an organisation to the possibility that we will be needed much more than usual along the coast this summer. This has given us the push to go that extra mile and put a second helicopter into service for the summer period. We will collate all of that data and what we learn from the process will inform how we move forwards as an organisation but for now, we’re gearing up to be there when people need us this summer.”

The second helicopter, an AW109 will be on call from Strubby Airfield, close to Mablethorpe. Although a different colour, the helicopter will have the Lincs & Notts Air Ambulance name and carry the same life-saving medical equipment as our iconic yellow helicopter. Our highly trained doctors and paramedics will be on board, bringing the emergency department to the patient with the ability to give blood transfusions, deliver an emergency anaesthetic, and even perform surgery at the roadside.

Richard Hunter, Ambulance Operations Manager for the Lincolnshire Division of East Midlands Ambulance Service said: “This second air ambulance will be an invaluable resource that will be utilised in an area of the county which can get exceptionally busy during the summer months.

“We often use the air ambulance for patients who have experienced a traumatic injury so every second counts following the 999 call being made.”

*In an emergency call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.

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