Do you know what to do if your child goes missing at the beach

Despite a bit of a change in the weather, the forecast is good again for this weekend, which means busy beaches along the Sefton Coastline and busy seafront areas. We have already had to respond to a number of reports of missing children and the school holidays still have 5 weeks to go. The seafront and beaches here from Southport to Formby are monitored by the Southport Local Policing Team, the Coastguard Service, the RNLI lifeguards and Southport Lifeboat.

Please help us to find any children that do go missing as quickly as possible by following this advice:

Children are safest when supervised. As soon as you get to a beach:

– Agree a meeting point in case of separation.

– If the beach runs a children’s safety scheme, using wristbands or tickets, take part. They’re free and they work. If you’re on an RNLI lifeguarded beach, visit the lifeguard hut on arrival and they can give you special wristbands to put your contact details on.

– Consider trackers for vulnerable children or adults.

– Take a photograph, so that if your children were to go missing, lifeguards and emergency service workers have a current photograph of the children and what they are wearing.

– Make sure your children know where the lifeguards are, and that if they find themselves lost, to go and find a lifeguard as they will be able to help reunite them with you.

IF A CHILD DOES GO MISSING:

• Calmly check your surroundings first, ensuring other children remain supervised

• Contact the lifeguards or police and keep them informed

• Let all searchers know once the child is found

For further information about safety at the beach, please click the Met Office link below. https://goo.gl/suhvRM

Do you know what to do if your child goes missing at the beach