This summer hordes of families and friends have flocked to Camber Beach for the rolling sands and the enticing sea. Many are unaware of the dangers such a tranquil looking scene can deliver.
I was photographing one day and as I walked from the car park with my kit to the beach, at low tide, a man stopped me and said: “Where’s the water?” I replied: “The tide is out and it will start coming in over the next few hours.” He asked in a shocked way: “What’s a tide?”
I have had quite a few parents get in touch with me about the dangers at Camber (with my RNLI hat on) and one mother felt so strongly she wrote the following message as a warning to other parents.
“Becoming a mum has made me realise how dangerous a beach can be for children. This year while visiting Camber my husband and I witnessed a scary situation which we felt we had no choice but to intervene on. The tide was coming in and quickly. We were packing up when I noticed there was a group of approximately six children all stood on a little island of sand where the sea had come in around them. It appeared that the children had not noticed that the tide was coming in and continued to play. Within minutes the tide was in enough so that the water was up to the knees of a few of the children. We became increasingly concerned for these children as it was becoming clear that they were not going to come in and it appeared as though there was no adult supervising them. I asked my husband to go and tell them that they now needed to come in as the water was getting too deep, which he did while I stayed with my children. When he got to the children he asked them numerous times to come in and they played on ignoring him. Only then did we see man come running down the stones out from one of the beach houses. The man insisted on allowing the children back out into the water despite the tide coming in however he did stay close by after we intervened. He stated that he was watching the children from the house but that was a long way from the edge of the sea.
“Some of those children were very young and should not be anywhere near a beach without close supervision. Yes, beaches are fun and beautiful places, but they are also extremely dangerous and all parents/carers need to remember this when visiting. It takes two minutes to have a quick google and look up when the tide should come in and out. If you don’t know the beach you’re visiting and don’t know how/when the tide usually comes in, then that’s even more of a reason to monitor your children very closely. A lovely day at the beach can very quickly turn into any parents’ worst nightmare if children are not supervised appropriately.”
The RNLI lifeguards are at two stations on Camber beach and they advise that swimming should take place between the flags. They give parents good advice and much of their work is in preventing accidents happening. They are vigilant and highly trained and have certainly made a visit to the beach a much safer experience.
Image Credits: olivia catherall , Kt bruce .