Burnham-On-Sea saw its hottest day of the year so far on Tuesday (July 23rd) and, with local beaches busy with holidaymakers, the town’s Coastguards were called out twice.
Temperatures in Burnham reached 31.9°C (89.4°F) mid-afternoon as the heatwave brought sweltering summer weather.
Burnham-On-Sea Coastguards were called to Brean Beach at 12.20pm amid concern for children using an inflatable out at sea.
“The ops room had taken a 999 call due to concerns for two children on an inflatable struggling to get back to shore.”
“We were quickly on scene and pleased to see that they had made it back and were safe, although the experience had left them a little shaken.”
“The wind had changed while they were playing and meant they were being pushed away from shore. Before they had the chance to go too far another beach user had seen their predicament and grabbed the inflatable and pulled them back to safety.”
As the Coastguard team returned to Burnham-On-Sea, there were concerns for a person on the jetty. The RNLI lifeguards and jetty attendants were speaking to the person and after a short time, the person was moved off the jetty to a place of safety.
In between these incidents, Coastguards also dealt with a missing girl, who had wandered away from her parents and was with some adults who flagged us down for assistance.
“A very upset mum had spotted our truck and quickly ran over where she was reunited with her very relieved child.”
“It can take only a few seconds for a child to wander off and become lost in a crowd, so we were glad that this was over very quickly.”
“We also helped the RNLI Lifeguards by giving a group of people some advice when they were trying to reach the water just beyond the red safety flags.”
In case of any emergency along the coast, call 999 and ask for the Coastguard.
