Summer Holiday Safety Advice

29th July 2019

Another period of very hot weather is upon us. Last summer, we were blessed with hot weather over a few weekends and, whilst many of us had a great time, the beaches and seafront areas of Formby, Ainsdale and Southport produced the highest number of missing children across the whole of the UK. As a result, we would like to offer the following safety tips for visiting the coastline, starting with what to pack in advance:

* Always make sure you have high factor sun cream before you set off

* Have plenty of water with you. Fizzy and alcoholic drinks de-hydrate you far quicker

* When you arrive, arrange a meeting point, in case you and your children get separated at any time.

* Make a mental note of the clothing that children are wearing, or better still, take a photograph. We all have cameras on our phones these days.

* In case you have to call the emergency services, know exactly where you are. Finding people who have called us on crowded beaches can delay response times.

* Consider giving small children waterproof wristbands with your contact details on, or even tracking devices for vulnerable children and adults, in case they wander off and lose their way. If a child is reported missing, the full range of available emergency services will make every effort to re-unite children with parents. Please help make our searches easier by following this advice and enjoy your time at our beaches, parks and town centres.

For more information on planning your visit to the beaches and woods at Formby, please go to the Natural Trust webpage: https://crowd.in/dYTYUr