Keeping safe atCamber Sandsthis summer

The beach team and Rye Harbour Lifeboat Crew had to go to the aid of the boat after it became stuck on a sand bar in shallow water.

It was one of two speedboats that had entered a safe area for bathers which is marked off by buoys.

The beach team had a busy weekend as soaring temperatures saw thousands of bathers packing onto the beach.

Camber has had up to 25,000 people on the beach on hot days.

Operation Radcott, the annual summer policing operation for Camber Sands, was in full swing with the beach team reuniting 14 missing children with their parents on Sunday and eight on the Saturday.

Parents are being urged to take advantage of a scheme which will keep their children safe at the beach during the summer holiday.

Rother District Council beach patrols and police officers are again this summer handing out wristbands which allow lost children at Camber Sands to be quickly and easily reunited with their family.

Cllr Martin Kenward, district council cabinet member for culture, tourism and leisure, said: “The geography of the beach and the sheer volume of visitors on a busy day means it’s all too easy for a child to lose their bearings.

“Before we introduced this system we used to get between 30 and 50 children going missing at peak times. That’s now been halved and when children do go missing we are able to reunite them with their parents much more quickly and easily.

“The system has been emulated by beaches in other areas, and along with the additional police presence is helping to make Camber Sands a safer place for visitors.”

Wristbands, which are available from beach patrols and police officers, are colour coded according to the area of the beach people are visiting.

Parents can write their mobile phone number on the wristband to make it easier for police to locate them.