Sandown Town Council Recognises Beach Safety Team

Sandown's Town Mayor, Cllr Alex Lightfoot, presented members of the town's Beach Lifeguard Team with framed certificates.

These recognised their contribution to Beach Safety in Sandown during 2023, as well as their part in securing the coveted Blue Flag Award for the third successive summer.

Alex said:

"This has been a very busy summer for the whole team, providing a seven-day service, and supporting the extension of the accessible wheelchair initiative.

"We wanted to say thank you to those for continuing to make Sandown a safe beach to visit and enjoy."

Sandown Town Council has invested in the provision of buoys in the bay, litter bins on the beach, support to the Independent Lifeboat, opening of Pier Street toilets for the summer, replacing the toilets at Eastern Gardens with a purpose built facility with showers and an accessible toilet.

Deputy Mayor Cllr Ian Fletcher, who helped present the certificates, added:

"This is very much a service that is being developed in partnership between the Town Council and Ryde Waterside Pool.

"The service goes from strength to strength, with a beach mat and Changing Places initiative being developed for the future."

Todd Miller, Beach Lifeguards Manager, concluded:

"It has been a challenging summer in many ways, but the team have responded to the challenges and the support they have received in Sandown has been heartening.

"We have plans to develop the service further for 2024 onwards."

2023 saw the introduction of Beach Safety Volunteers, volunteers aged between 14 and 15 years old, who gave up their summer holidays to support the Beach Lifeguards in their day to day operations.

The youngsters underwent extensive training and exams at RBLG Beach Rookies, with two achieving their RLSS Bronze Medallion Beach Awards this summer in preparation of becoming the next generation of Beach Lifeguards.