A CHARITY which has helped thousands of people to enjoy a trip to the beach has been praised by East Lothian’s MSP.

Beach Wheelchairs uses specialist wheelchairs, at no cost to the user, to help people enjoy the sands at North Berwick, Portobello and Seton Sands.

Its core mission is “to get people onto the sand, by the waves and enable them to enjoy our beautiful beaches with friends and family”.

Paul McLennan, MSP for East Lothian, described the group, founded in 2015, as “a wonderful charity that makes a big difference”.

He said: “Many able-bodied people like myself take visiting the beach for granted.

“Beach Wheelchairs offers wheelchair users and those with reduced mobility the freedom and independence to enjoy the beach with their loved ones, have new experiences, make core memories or be transported back to their childhood just by being on the sand.”

Alison Brown, chairperson of Beach Wheelchairs, recently welcomed Mr McLennan and Councillor Liz Allan to its base in North Berwick.

She said: “Making our beach accessible is something that a lot of people take for granted but we are passionate about.

“In our nine years, we have helped thousands of people onto the beach.

“We have helped individuals who haven’t been beside the sea in decades, helped families have their first trips together and enabled first paddles and sandcastles.

“We’ve helped people at end of life and enabled kids to access beach activities alongside their classmates.

“We are indebted to our fantastic gang of volunteers that help us run a year-round service.”