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The RNLI is marking 25 years of its lifeguard service with a special event on New Brighton Beach today.
42 people will stand in formation on the beach, according to Birkenhead News, to represent each life saved by RNLI lifeguards in the north west since it began.
The lifeguard service was started in 2001 in Cornwall before it expanded. It came to Sefton in 2010 and Wirral in 2015.
In just over a decade on Wirral, lifeguards across West Kirby, Moreton, Harrison Drive, Leasowe Bay, The Plateaux and New Brighton have attended 3,515 incidents, helped 16,368 people and saved 18 lives, also reported by the Wirral Globe.
Peter Dawes, RNLI lifeguard general manager, said in a statement: "As a charity we are here to save lives at sea. Thanks to RNLI lifeguards, our beaches are safer places, so we can enjoy our time at the coast and return home safely at the end of the day. "
He continued by saying almost all of a lifeguard's "work is prevention". He noted they keep people safe by educating them on water safety and finding dangers before accidents occur.
Senior RNLI lifeguard Sarah Abbott, 24, who joined the service in 2019 at the age of 17, told the Globe: "Over the years, our team has grown in size and diversity, which represents the service as a whole. Each year we respond to more and more incidents, which really drives us to organise more training sessions and get creative so we are ready for anything we might come across."
Ms. Abbott said while people may not see the RNLI in the same way as emergency services, they do lots of training behind the scenes and prevention in order to save lives.
Long-standing senior lifeguard Richard Webster joined the service 10 years ago at the age of 50. He said: "Growing up on the coast and always living near the sea meant I had knowledge of the RNLI from a very early age. It wasn't until I reached 50 that I found I had the time in my life to fulfil a different role."
He added: "For me, one of the most rewarding aspects of lifeguarding is being a part of the education and safety talks to young children. Having the opportunity to teach water safety to children from a young age is really important as it may one day save a life."
The anniversary is actually coming up tomorrow, on the 31 of July, just before International Lifeguard Appreciation Day.
New Brighton RNLI continues to take on volunteers, and recently one of their volunteers, Connor, became a helm and is now in charge of 85 lifeboats during callouts.
