OKAY, I'm not Pamela Anderson and the beach at Redcar is a far cry from Los Angeles.

But the problems remain the same whatever beach you happen to be lazing on - children will cause a major panic by going missing, people will still take inflatable dinghies into the water without a safety rope, and teenagers will still scream with laughter as they dodge the massive waves that could sweep them to their deaths.

Its easy to understand why some people would think there is a comedy element to having lifeguards patrolling the beaches in our part of the world, where we hardly get weather that would tempt most people into the water.

But, there lies a serious lack of understanding.

At least 500 people drown every year along the British coastline.

Last weekend, a 20-year-old was left fighting for his life after he went out into the sea at Easington, County Durham, on an inflatable dinghy.

Last winter, a young Teesside man drowned after he and his friends had been dodging the waves at South Gare and he was pulled in by the vicious waters.

And earlier this week, a massive land, sea and air search was called off at the last minute after a frantic father found his eight-year-old daughter wandering the beach at Redcar, 40 minutes after he had taken his eyes off her for just a few seconds.

The stories are all too familiar to the lifeguards at Redcar, who spend their days watching a stretch of beach opposite the town centre.

Their motto is prevention is better than cure and so, when I spotted a young family taking an inflatable dinghy into the water, lifeguard Michael Richardson went straight over to advise them to keep the boat on a rope or to take it out of the water.

The lifeguards would rather be giving advice than hauling drowning people out of the water.

To them, a quiet, boring day is a good day.

Not that the lifeguards want to spoil people's enjoyment. A beach can be the best playground there is. But the Redcar beach patrollers feel people need to be more aware of what they are doing.

Paul Castle, foreshore manager for Redcar and Cleveland Borough Council, said: "The sea is a very unforgiving place - it doesn't take any prisoners. People don't respect the sea - they haven't got a clue. They have got to start thinking about safety before they see the tragic results."

Safety is something everyone should think about next time they are attracted by the lull of a calm, peaceful sea, gently turning over into white splashes as it laps up to the beach.

It is too easy to forget about the cruel currents underneath, which will reach up and drag people into the sea's deathly lair