Push For Lifeguards At Camber Sands After Deaths Of Five Young Men

Concerns about the safety of the beach at Camber Sands have been raised after five young men died while on a visit to the seaside.

The East Sussex beach does not have lifeguards and the five deaths on Wednesday and one last month have some calling for extra safety measures.

A month ago, Josie Holloway, from Greatstone, began a petition to get lifeguards at Camber Sands during the summer.

It has now gained 5,893 signatories.

On the petition, she said: "Camber Sands gets unbelievably busy during summer time", adding: "I feel (they) could save lives".

Sky News spoke to a mother on the beach who called for the council to review safety arrangements.

She said: "I understand that a lifeguard can only monitor a certain piece of land... and on a beach this size it would make it very difficult.

"But I think probably if I was sitting on the local authority or council, I'd say it's time to revise how they manage the beach and keep it safe.

"They've got clear zones and flags but it might be time to have a look and see what else they can do to keep people safe."

A second woman told Sky News that the beach could be deceptively dangerous, adding: "The tides come in around the banks so people are sitting on the banks and don't realise the water's coming in behind them.

"You've got the lifeboat station, you've got three lifeboats quite close.

"I think it would be quite difficult to have a lifeguard here with so many thousands of people here and such a large beach (but) I suppose it would be good to have a station here."

Councillor Sally-Ann Hart, cabinet member for public realm, culture and tourism and ward member for Eastern Rother on Rother District Council, was asked by Sky News why there were no lifeguards on the beach.

:: Warning Of Sea Dangers After Six Coastal Deaths

She said: "There isn't a lifeguard on this beach because over the years, over the months, Rother takes advice, it works with other agencies to see whether a lifeguard is needed so an assessment is made on the safety of the beach very regularly and whether a lifeguard is needed and it has always been not a necessity to have a lifeguard on Camber Sands."

When asked if that situation was untenable, given the five deaths this week and one last month, Mrs Hart replied: "I think it's untenable that people have lost their lives.

"The issue of a lifeguard is absolutely something we must look at as an ongoing safety (issue).

"But I think it's not just a lifeguard but we need to look at other issues to do with people coming from outside the area who aren't familiar with the dangers of the sea and maybe people being better informed about the dangers of coming to a natural environment."

RNLI lifeguards provide cover at more than 200 beaches in the UK and Channel Islands, but Camber Sands is not one of them.

It works with local authorities to make beaches safer.

David Walker, from The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, said: "Fundamentally, in the UK there are no statutory duties, no laws that compel local authorities or managers of land to place lifeguards.

"They're placed following risk assessment, they're placed following a decision locally to say: 'well, is there a benefit here? Is there a trade-off to the cost?'.

"That unfortunately across the UK can sometimes lead to what we call patchy provision of lifeguarding: in some areas you can have one beach and another beach that looks quite similar but you may have one lifeguarded and the other not."