At the start of the summer holidays on a warm day in Blackpool, the beach was busy with families and children swimming in the sea.

Beach Patrol Officer, Daniel Barber, was on duty when he spotted two teenage boys, 13 and 15, approximately 35 meters from the shore on a boogie board, just north of Central Pier. Immediately recognising the dangers, Daniel made his way to the area to advise the boys to come in and move away from the pier, but he soon noticed that strong currents, caused by northerly winds and a rip tide had quickly pulled the boys out towards the central pier.

The younger of the two boys quickly became out of his depth as he had lost his boogie board and was left without floatation. Both boys began to panic and grabbed hold of the pier stanchions, and Daniel quickly recognised the urgency of the situation.

Daniel sprang into action, radioing for immediate backup and, after authorisation, entered the water to rescue the teenagers who were in deeper water under the pier and struggling to keep their heads above water with the strong currents. The boys were in danger of being overwhelmed and unable to get themselves to safety.

As Daniel entered the water, the Coastguard was informed of the situation and Beach Patrol Officers, Steven Oates and Richard Williams provided back-up communications and drove the rescue vehicle to the scene.

Due to the boys being under the pier, it would have been difficult for the coastguard to reach them.

Daniel successfully negotiated the surf quickly to reach the two boys and stabilised the situation, recovering both teenagers and their boogie boards and getting them back to shore.

Thanks to Daniel spotting the situation and acting quickly, the rescue was well-executed and resulted in both boys returning safely, without having ingested any water. The younger of the two boys sustained some cuts and grazes as a result of being pushed against the barnacles on the pier stanchions, and was treated by Steven.

The coastguard was informed that due to the actions of Lifeguard Daniel and the rest of the team, no further assistance would be needed.

RLSS UK awarded Daniel, Steven and Richard with Certificates of Meritorious Action for Lifeguards and Daniel was presented with his certificate by RLSS UK Lancashire Branch President Richard Halstead.

A Lancashire Branch Water Safety Officer commented on the rescue, saying: "A textbook rescue involving alertness, observation, assessment, initialisation of the EAP, intervention, rescue and the provision of aftercare.”

Huge congratulations to the Beach Patrol team for their excellent communication skills in ensuring a quick and successful rescue.

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