South Shields life savers handed national award

South Shields Volunteer Lifeguard Club has been named as club of the year at the Royal Life Saving Society UK - RLSS UK awards presentation.

The event was held at the Guildhall in London where members of the club were also presented with a host of accolades in recognition of their commitment and achievements.

During the evening Michelle Elstob and Celine Tovey were awarded certificates of thanks for their years of service; Pamela Sharp was recognised with a Bar to Service medal for 16 years service as a lifeguard volunteer; Richard Ludlow was presented with a certificate of merit for his contribution to the service.

Other awards were presented to Pamela Sharp and Gillian Wilkinson who both received the Medal of Distinction for their volunteering at club branch level while a Medal of Honour for contribution at branch or regional level was awarded to Penney Wilkinson.

South Shields Volunteer Lifeguard Club received the Clive Holland Trophy after being named Club of the Year while Erin Elstob was presented with the accolade of Young Lifesaver of the Year.

Club secretary Penny Wilkinson said: “We had nine members of our club at the awards evening and of all the clubs we had the biggest representation.

“We were so proud to be invited and to have all our hard work recognised.

“Last year we celebrated our 55th anniversary and introduced 55 awards of different types for our members to work towards.

“We were honoured to receive the club of the year trophy as we were up against other clubs from across the country.”

The Volunteer Lifeguard club, based at Brinkburn CIO off Harton Lane in South Shields, provides lifeguard training courses for children and adults, and even trains RNLI lifeguards, while members provide first aid cover for local sports and charity events.

The club is run entirely by volunteers, the club carries out fundraising events every year, and also relies on donations,

They hold Rookie sessions for youngsters on a Saturday morning while older children and adults training is held on a Tuesday.

For more information on the club visit South Shields Volunteer Lifeguard Club on Facebook or call 455 3819.