The leader of the Liberal Democrats made a flying visit to Burnham-On-Sea on Tuesday during the party’s General Election campaign.
At the last General Election in 2015, the BARB hovercraft was visited by the Conservatives’ Boris Johnson and James Heappey, and this week it was Liberal Democrats leader Tim Farron and the party’s candidate Tessa Munt.
Mr Farron and Tessa Munt heard about BARB’s work in operating two life-saving rescue hovercrafts, and met its volunteers.
Mr Farron addressed campaigners and then joined a hovercraft training session, boarding one of BARB’s rescue hovercrafts for a short trip along the sands at low tide.
“That was great, and it shows they are the fourth emergency service,” Mr Farron said afterwards.
A BARB spokesman said: “This was a great opportunity to publicise the work of BARB’s volunteers to a nationwide audience, while also promoting a strong message about beach safety awareness at the start of the busy summer season. As a small local charity, we depend on publicity to pro-actively promote beach safety and the work we do.”
