Volunteers at the National Coastwatch Institution’s (NCI) station at Rossall Point, Fleetwood will be among the stars on Channel 5’s ‘Coastal Adventures with Helen, Jules and JB’ to be aired on Tuesday, 26th August at 8pm.

The new series of the show sees the popular presenters Helen Skelton, JB and Jules Hudson explore the UK’s coastline, meeting the people who live and work at the coast and who know its secrets.

Volunteers at NCI Fleetwood, the most north-westerly of NCI’s 61 coastal watch stations welcomed Helen Skelton and the show’s camera crew to the watch tower on a sunny day in May.

Helen met the crew and found out about the work of the charity’s 2,800 volunteer watchkeepers who help to keep people safe and save lives along the coast by maintaining a daily visual and radio watch of the coast, looking out for anyone in potential danger. They report any coastal safety-related incidents to HM Coastguard so that expert help can be sent, including the Coastguard Rescue Teams and helicopters, the RNLI, independent lifeboats and all emergency services.

It was a perfect opportunity to demonstrate the important coastal safety work carried out by NCI’s volunteers and to show off the views across Morecambe Bay, said Ian, NCI Fleetwood’s Water Safety Officer.

“It was a fantastic day and we loved showing Helen and the film crew our views and discuss our responsibilities at Rossall Point. We assist our HM Coastguard partners and other search and rescue organisations by acting as ‘eyes and ears’ along the coast. We help to keep locals and visitors to our beaches and in-shore waters safe,” he said.

From the safety of the watch tower, Helen and the crew also saw for themselves the local dangers of fast tides at Morecambe Bay, added Ian.

“Our vantage point provides us with extensive views across the bay and as well as our eyes, we use high power optics to help us keep a look out for anyone at risk of being caught out by the tide or stuck in mud. Helen was particularly interested to hear how our volunteers have raised the alarm early enough to help save lives. We all hope the message on water safety is heard by many and we thank Helen and her team for their visit,’ he said.

NCI Fleetwood has been in operation at Fleetwood since 2008 and moved into the Observation Tower in 2013. The station currently has 46 volunteers who keep a lookout every day of the year during daylight hours.

Many of our stations welcome enquiries from potential supporters and volunteers. Visit Volunteering – National Coastwatch