Water safety warnings issued in Hampshire ahead of busy bank holiday weekend
The RNLI is encouraging people to only swim on lifeguarded beaches
As thousands are expected to flock to the South Coast this busy bank holiday weekend, the RNLI is urging people to take extra care.
Simple steps like visiting a lifeguarded beach and knowing what to do if someone finds themselves in trouble in the water could help save lives, says water safety lead, Nick Ayers.
Many people are expected to head out into the sea with floats, paddleboards and kayaks.
Ross Macleod, RNLI Water Safety Lead, said: "We're encouraging everybody to try and head to a supervised location.
"Head to a lifeguarded beach and swim between the red and yellow flags when you're there and you've got a trained professional on hand.
"When it comes to paddleboards or inflatable kayaks or toys, they can be very affected by the conditions such as offshore winds, which is when the wind is blowing from the beach out to sea.
"Particularly if you're not very experienced paddling, this can affect you quite quickly, so you can start off in really shallow water close to the beach, and find yourself offshore very quickly.
"If you're going to be on one of those types of craft, look out for the black and white flags on a lifeguarded beach, and that's the place for these craft to enter the water.
"There's a couple of other bits you should consider as well.
"First off, wear a buoyancy aid, so that way if you do find yourself in the water, you can make sure you keep yourself afloat, and also always carry an emergency means of calling for help with you, so something like a mobile phone with a waterproof pouch."
The RNLI’s advice for anyone struggling in the water is ‘Float to Live’:
- Tilt your head back with your ears submerged
- Relax and try to breathe normally
- Move your hands and feet to help you stay afloat
- It's fine if your legs sink, we all float differently
- Practise floating in a local pool if you can
If you see someone else struggling in the water:
- Call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard
- Tell the person to relax and float on their back
- Throw something buoyant to help them stay afloat