The only surf lifesaving club in south Pembrokeshire has been given a £500 helping hand from one of the events it supports with its skills.

Tenby Surf Lifesaving Club, a registered charity which was set up in 1993, not only provides volunteer patrols on Tenby’s beaches, together with lifeguard training, education and workshops, but also offers safety cover at events.

Last year, the club delivered 334 hours of volunteer patrols or event safety cover locally, which included the Tenby Boxing Day Swim.

The swim organisers, Tenby Sea Swimming Association (TSSA), have now given a £500 donation to the club in thanks for its cover at the 2024 swim, which saw a record number of 1,150 bathers take to the water. The event also raised £4,000 for Tenby RNLI.

The presentation took place at Tenby Surf Lifesaving Club’s purpose-built facility on Tenby’s South Beach when club water safety co-ordinator and lifeguard lead, Angelo Fecci received the cheque from TSSA chairman, Sam Skyrme-Blackhall.

The money will be used by the club to boost its junior lifesaving education programme, which uses surf sport to train youngsters aged between eight and 16 in core water safety messages and water skills. Last year, 40 juniors enjoyed 65 hours of practical in-water training.

Cllr Skyrme-Blackhall said: "We would like to thank Angelo and all the team for their help and assistance with Tenby Boxing Day Swim. Without these people it would not be possible.

"The Boxing Day Swim is lots of fun and they ensure everyone can have fun safely.

"It is wonderful to be able to help with funding for the service that the Tenby Surf Lifesaving Club provides to the town."

In other recent news involving Tenby Surf Lifesaving, a joint project between the organisation, Tenby and Saundersfoot First Responders, and Valero - has seen a new public access defibrillator installed alongside the seaside town’s South Beach - meaning there is now one defib in place to serve every beach of the coastal resort.

The new lifesaving device is the latest to be installed in the county by First Responders and completes the chain of defibrillators along the coast.

A defibrillator is a device that gives a high energy shock to the heart of someone who is in cardiac arrest and can increase a person’s chance of survival from cardiac arrest.

Training is not required and members of the public can access a public defibrillator by calling 999 and reporting a medical emergency to the ambulance service.

“Tenby Surf Lifesaving is a local run charity whose aim is to save lives on the beaches of Tenby,” said Angelo Fecci, lifesaving co-ordinator.

“The addition of this public access defibrillator inevitably makes beach-goers safer by giving access to life saving devices around the clock.

“We would like to thank our partners, Tenby and Saundersfoot First Responders, also a local volunteer lead charity, for working with us and providing the defibrillator unit itself.

“We would also like to thank Valero who funded the installation cost and a protective cabinet for the device.”