AS THE sun shows it face for a while and we get some nice weather, I wanted to take this opportunity to highlight some very important advice regarding water safety.

This is a really important subject and one which I do not think is well enough known.

In the past few weeks, across the county there have been some serious incidents where people have had to be rescued from the water by our partner agencies and it’s been their professionalism and good luck that no one has come to serious harm.

This week is Drowning Prevention Week and we have been highlighting this on our social media channels. Playing and swimming in the sea, lochs and in our reservoirs can be fun but can also be very dangerous. You must make sure you and your children know these dangers and take the appropriate precautions.

Recently, the Coastguard and RNLI were called out to Seacliff Beach because a person had been blown out to sea on a lilo. When the teams attended, they found two further inflatables which were empty. Thankfully, on this occasion no one was injured but a further call was received to Musselburgh regarding a person in the water in distress and again this person was assisted and uninjured.

It is vital that you understand that these inflatables are not for open water and are designed for contained pools. Please, if you lose an inflatable at sea, call the Coastguard and inform them of the description and location it was lost at, as this can prevent a full scale, multi-agency search operation from being instigated.

During the recent warm weather, the RNLI received a high volume of calls and had to request assistance from their colleagues in Kinghorn. I want to prevent this from happening.

If you are swimming in the sea, be aware that there can be strong tidal currents and swim parallel to the shore at a depth where you can easily put your feet down and get to safety. Never swim alone, wear a bright-coloured cap and tow float, and have means of calling for help.

With a further period of warm weather heading our way, I ask that you look after yourselves and your children, respect the coastline and leave no trace of you being there. There are a team of people who work exceptionally hard to ensure we can enjoy the beaches and parks safely and it is not acceptable to abuse them.

We will not tolerate that and will make all efforts to trace and charge anyone who acts in manner that is violent, threatening or intimidating towards any member of staff doing their job.

Thankfully these incidents are few and far between but a couple have been reported recently and my officers are conducting enquiries.

With the schools now headed for the summer holidays, we are all drawn to these beauty spots and rightly so. I am constantly reminded how lucky I am to work in such a beautiful part of the world.

During peak times this summer, my officers and I will be having pop-up events at the beaches so please pop along and say hello and I look forward to seeing many of you there.