Sunday 29 July 2018

The RNLI has urged beachgoers to stay safe if they head to the beach with inflatables this summer.

With people flocking to the coast across the UK, there has been a spike in the number of people having to be rescued from a wide range of inflatables – ranging from footballs, unicorns, flamingos to inflatable boats.

RNLI Lifeboat Operations Manager, Peter Gill said, ‘Inflatables aren’t designed for the beach, and it is easy to find yourself quickly swept out to sea.

‘If you do choose to use them, we would like to remind people that they’re to be used near the shore and only when the wind is blowing back onto the beach. Never take inflatables out in big waves, and never use them when the winds which will blow you further out to sea.

 ‘On Sunday, our local volunteer crew were called out to reports of two persons with an inflatable kayak at Pembroke struggling to get back to shore. Thankfully, the wind died down and the kayakers were able to return safely to dry land.  However, it could have been a very different outcome.’

Whenever you take to the sea the RNLI recommend that you and your children wear a suitable lifejacket or buoyancy aid.  This will provide the necessary flotation should the inflatable suffer a puncture or similar.