Thank God we have Southport Lifeboat!
How many lives have they saved in the past few days alone along beaches at Southport, Birkdale, Ainsdale and Formby? As Volunteers Week takes place, there feels like no better time to pay tribute. They are totally independent, a charity with no funding from the RNLI.
In one incident, they rescued 40 people who had strolled far out along the sands at Southport Beach before suddenly being cut off by the inrushing tide.
They dispatched crews to find the family of a missing child.
A family of three who found themselves in difficulties near the Pier Channel were safely helped back to dry land.
On another day, they stopped three children from drowning at sea.
They also completed a number of missing person searches, while rescuing more people who had found themselves cut off by the incoming tide.
They even removed a number of inflatables that had begun drifting out to sea.
Southport Lifeboat volunteers rescued 40 people who had been cut off by the tide at Southport Beach
The following day they again faced a number of beach goers who had suddenly found themselves in difficulty in the water.
These are incredibly dangerous times being faced by Southport Lifeboat.
Beaches at Southport, Ainsdale and Formby are normally protected by RNLI lifeguards.
This year the lifeguard seats remain empty. The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) suspended patrols along UK beaches in March because of the coronavirus outbreak.
It has since come under pressure to reinstate lifeguards, after a number of recent coastline tragedies elsewhere in the UK. The RNLI response is that they have ‘not been given enough time to coordinate new policies and training to protect staff and volunteers from coronavirus’.
Read More: Southport Lifeboat rescues 40 people cut off by tide at Southport Beach
The easing of coronavirus lockdown restrictions recently has seen thousands of people flock from places including Birmingham, Manchester and Wigan to our local beaches.
Merseyside Police, Sefton Council and Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service warn that “we have seen a rise in the number of people using local beaches, parks and beauty spots including Formby nature reserve and Formby, Ainsdale and Sefton beaches”.
They are warning people to stay away – but people have not listened.
A Sefton Council spokesman said: “Our beaches are tempting but they are not able to cope with high levels of visitors at the moment.
“We understand that some lockdown measures have been eased nationally but that does not mean that we are through the worst of this and as ever, the health and safety of our communities comes first.”
With no lifeguards in place, a number of people have found themselves in all kinds of difficulties. Not surprising on a long, flat beach where the tide can suddenly appear around your ankles and rush in faster than a car.
It is in these circumstances that the men and women of Southport Lifeboat have done an heroic job – lots of people owe their safety to them.
They are all volunteers and give their time in order to keep others safe. Carrying out rescues at sea is putting their own safety at risk to help others. Especially on crowded beaches during a coronavirus outbreak. They are the most utterly selfless people you will find.
They do so at the moment from a dilapidated building on Marine Drive, which is not fit for purpose. It was built over 130 years ago, has no toilet or sink and is bitterly cold during Winter months.
Their brand new state-of-the-art seafront HQ is currently being built and is due to officially open later this year. Exciting times. It will house the charity’s quads, two boards and drones.
Southport Lifeboat volunteers rescued 40 people who had been cut off by the tide at Southport Beach
It is a new chapter in the history of Southport Lifeboat, which has been operating in its current guise since the 1980s.
In 1925, the RNLI decided to withdraw its lifeboat service from Southport, leaving the nearest RNLI bases to Southport at New Brighton and Lytham.
In the 1980s after a series of tragedies off our coast, bereaved relatives and local people campaigned to bring a rescue service back to our town in order to prevent any further tragedies. Amazingly, after only 14 months of the idea being first mooted, the dream was realised. Southport once again had an Independent Lifeboat, paid for with your donations, crewed, and run by the people of Southport.
The new Southport Lifeboat building, and the equipment, has been funded entirely by public donations. It has been a huge amount of money to raise, and will cost more to maintain and continue running.
At a time when they are facing huge new demands on their services, they have suffered a significant drop in income through their iconic Southport Lifeboat charity shop on Everton Road in Birkdale – headed up by the incredible Kath Wilson – being forced to temporarily close due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It costs £60,000 to keep the boat on station all year round. That is no mean task during ordinary times, let alone the extraordinary times we currently find ourselves in.
Southport Lifeboat is funded entirely through public donations. There are other ways you can help the charity continue to save lives, including joining LifeboatLotto or online donations.
For more details about the emergency service, or if you would like to dominate, please visit their website:
http://www.southport-lifeboat.co.uk/
DO you have a story for Stand Up For Southport? Please message us via Facebook or email Andrew Brown at: mediaandrewbrown@gmail.com
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