A SPECIAL phone described as a "family hotline" has popped up on a Mersea beach to help parents facing beach day dilemmas.

The hotline comes after a survey revealed almost half of all parents have forgotten beach-essentials on a family day trip, with suncream, and water bottles topping the list.

The survey also found that 35 per cent of parents experience their child having a meltdown as consequence of forgetting a beach-day essential.

To mark National Beach Day, Skoda set up the phone was at Mersea Island beach on Friday. 

Beach day - The brand decided to launch the hotline after completing a survey that reveals almost half of all British parents forget beach-day essentials on a family-day outBeach day - The brand decided to launch the hotline after completing a survey that reveals almost half of all British parents forget beach-day essentials on a family-day out (Image: Skoda)

It was temporarily placed at the beach by the company for parents to pick up and request essential items they may have forgotten. 

Staff members travelled down to Essex in an SUV carrying a huge number of beach-essentials.

Items included towels, sun cream, and water bottles are available. 

Kirsten Stagg, Spokesperson at Škoda UK, said: “As a parent myself, I understand the stress and panic of getting to your destination and realising you’ve left behind essentials,

“We’ve packed the boot full to help keep families smiling so they can just enjoy the day.”