Safety warning as lifeguards to pause for winter

The RNLI has reiterated water safety advice as it brings its summer lifeguard provision to an end at beaches in Kent and Sussex.

The charity's lifeguards in the region will begin their pauses over winter starting from Sunday.

In total, the organisation patrols 239 beaches in the UK and the Channel Islands on both a voluntary and local authority-funded basis.

Ed Stevens, South East lifeguard lead, said the 2026 summer had been "one of the busiest and most demanding seasons" in the service's history due to unprecedented hot and dry weather.

The season saw "record numbers" visiting beaches in the region but lifeguards had adapted to "the challenges of an exceptionally busy season", he said.

The summer also saw a number of high-profile water-related deaths in the UK, including four members of one family who died after getting into difficulty in the sea off the coast of Shoreham, West Sussex.

• West Sussex: RNLI lifeguards will finish their service on 6 September and return in spring.
• East Sussex: Lifeguards finish their service on Bexhill beach on 6 September. Daily patrols will continue at St Leonards, Hastings Pier, Hastings Pelham, Camber West and Camber Central beaches until 12 September and move to weekend-only cover until 27 September.
• Brighton & Hove: Service ends for the year on 6 September.
• Kent: Provision continues at Broadstairs Viking Bay and Margate's main beaches daily until the 12 September and at weekends until 27 September. Cover elsewhere in Thanet and Swale ends on 6 September.

Stevens encouraged anybody visiting the coast outside of the lifeguard season to follow water safety advice.

According to the RNLI's "float to live" campaign, people who find themselves in trouble in the water should:

· Tilt their head back with their ears submerged

· Try to relax and control their breathing

· Move hands and legs to help stay afloat

· Call for help or swim to safety once they have regained control of breathing

Stevens said: "Be prepared for any activity you're planning to do by carrying a means of calling for help and letting someone know where you're going and when you'll be back.

"Always remember the RNLI's float to live guidance and if you get into trouble or see someone in trouble, call 999 and ask for the coastguard."

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