RNLI lifeguards and lifeboat crews have held a riptide rescue training session in Gorleston.

The crews banded together for a combined multi-casualty training exercise at the beach on Monday, staging a simulated rescue using trained lifeguards posing as casualties in the water who had been caught in a fictional rip current.

Rip currents are a major cause of accidental drowning. They are a hazard across many beaches in the UK and Ireland.

Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI lifeguards and lifeboat crew practiced and refined the best and quickest techniques to transfer casualties from rescue boards and rescue tubes in the sea to different lifeboats including the Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat (ILB) John Rowntree, the Trent class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) Samarbeta and ALB daughter craft.

READ MORE: Caister Lifeboat's new £1.6m Medina-class vessel on display

Eastern Daily Press: RNLI lifeguards on Gorleston beach. Picture - RNLIRNLI lifeguards on Gorleston beach. Picture - RNLI (Image: RNLI)

Rod Wells, RNLI mechanic and volunteer coxswain, said: "The multi-casualty training scenario offered the lifeguards a valuable insight and demonstration of the capabilities of Great Yarmouth and Gorleston Lifeboat Station."

The training exercise also explored casualty care and the best approaches to transferring and treating casualties with spinal damage.

The charity said its lifeguards pride themselves on being as fit and prepared as possible to keep beach users safe.

READ MORE: Hemsby erosion: RNLI hut removed from beach due to high tide

The Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI lifeboat crew and lifeguards will be working together at Gorleston Beach on Thursday, August 17 from 7pm. They will conduct a sand hole collapse joint training exercise with local emergency services.

Eastern Daily Press: RNLI crews from Great Yarmouth and Gorleston have been working together in training exercises. Picture - RNLIRNLI crews from Great Yarmouth and Gorleston have been working together in training exercises. Picture - RNLI (Image: RNLI)

FLOAT TO LIVE

If you find yourself in trouble in the water, remember to Float to Live:

  • Tilt your head back with your ears submerged 
  • Try to relax 
  • Control your breathing 
  • Use your hands to help you stay afloat 
  • Once you are calm, try to call for help or swim to safety if you can.

In a coastal emergency, call 999 or 112 for the Coastguard.

For more beach safety information and tips, visit: https://rnli.org/safety/beach-safety.