Clacton seawater search sparks calls for greater education

Emergency services swarmed Clacton seafront on Tuesday morning and evacuated the beaches after six swimmers got into difficulty off the coastline.

Five of the beachgoers were subsequently rescued and pulled from the water before being taken to Colchester Hospital for further treatment and care.

Despite the best efforts of lifeboat and coastguard crews, however, one man, believed to be in his early 20s, remained unaccounted for.

The search for the casualty, which was stopped at midnight on Tuesday, resumed at 9am yesterday but started to be scaled down by coastguard crews during the afternoon. 

Those who found themselves caught up in the emergency are understood to have been swept towards Clacton Pier by a strong current.

The incident has reignited the debate over whether or not the seafront has enough signs warning visitors of the dangers of the sea.

A number of noticeboards are displayed near West Beach and at access points which lead to the east side of the pier.

An independent audit conducted by the RNLI, which is regularly reviewed, also previously concluded the seafront signage meets the legal requirements.

Lee Dickerson launched his awareness-raising Stay Sea Safe scheme back in 2018 following the death of Ben Quartermaine, 15, who died in water near the pier.

The Clacton resident is now looking to raising £1,000 to fund workshops and campaigns which will educate beachgoers on the dangers of the coastline.

READ MORE: Search operation for missing man in Clacton to scale down

He said: “I want to spread further awareness of the dangers here because something needs to be done for sure - we can’t let this continue, can we?

“The sea is a dangerous place so we need to educate people, we need more patrols and we need to spread awareness to stop this from happening.

“I would like to send out thoughts to everyone involved in the sea rescue.”

Since the incident, some people have also suggested netting should be installed around Clacton Pier to stop people be dragged underneath it.

Nigel Brown, Clacton Pier’s communications manager, said that none of the fatalities in the 13 years that the current owners have been responsible for the pier have taken place beneath the structure.

“The issues with the tides and strong currents exist along our coastline and are not created by the pier; they are due to the local geography,” he added.

“This latest incident was not at the pier, but near to it. Life rings attended by pier staff helped save four people who could otherwise have found themselves in a far more serious situation.

Mr Brown said that while nets may seem like a good idea they could easily introduce other – and possibly greater – risks.

READ MORE: Clacton Pier workers praised for saving stranded swimmers

He said: “Swimmers or wildlife may become entangled. 

"The nets would also prevent the lifeboat and emergency services from easily gaining access to the underside of the pier if anyone did gain access to this area and needed rescuing.

"Nets would also be almost impossible to maintain due to items like barnacles on the piles.” 

Mr Brown added additional measures could be taken in the future but these would first need to be assessed by professionals.

Alex Porter, Tendring councillor responsible leisure and tourism, has said additional safety measures could well be discussed in future if an investigation into the most recent sea-related emergency finds a need for them.

“Our thoughts are with those affected by this awful incident, along with the dedicated rescue teams who have spent so long searching for this gentleman,” he said.

“If we can support the man’s family or friends in anyway then we invite them to get in touch with us.

“I have seen much speculation on social media as to the causes of this tragedy, and while an investigation into precisely what happened is ongoing it would be inappropriate to comment further; but incidents invariably have a unique set of circumstances.

“Once this incident has been fully investigated we will of course, with our seafront partners, examine if there are any changes that could be made to practices to improve safety drawn from any lessons learnt.

“The council has worked hard with our partners over recent years to further improve coastal safety. 

"This has included a review and installation of a wide range of new safety signage, and the introduction of a new Beach Patrol station in Clacton; with our Beach Patrol on hand to provide advice and information to beachgoers.

“Education is also key to raise awareness of the risks inherent along coastlines, and the Tendring Water Safety Forum has carried out much activity in this area in recent years.

“We would like to remind people that if you see someone in difficulty along the coastline then please call 999 and ask for Coastguard, who can quickly task an emergency response from our local RNLI and Coastguard stations.”