Seaford Bay can be an extremely dangerous place. The part of the beach where the incident occurred last night is notoriously dangerous. The sea conditions yesterday were heavy and people should be mindful of their own abilities, especially when swimming somewhere new. Jumping into water or “tombstoning” can be dangerous because:

*Water depth alters with the tide – the water may be shallower than it seems

*Submerged objects like rocks may not be visible – they can cause serious impact injuries if you land on them

*The shock of cold water may make it difficult to swim

*Strong currents can rapidly sweep people away.

Although this was a tragic accident it could have easily been prevented by education and by always swimming at a Lifeguarded beach, Seaford Bay is Lifeguarded from the 1st of May to the 30th of September every weekend and Bank Holiday Monday from 1000-1800. Details of Lifeguarded beaches can be found on www.goodbeachguide.co.uk Knowledge of the beach safety flags is essential, red flags mean it is not safe to swim, you should never enter the water when you see a red flag, you should always swim between the red and yellow flags, this is the safest area to swim and is monitored by Lifeguards. If there are no flags present then you must presume there are no Lifeguards on duty.