Cornish lifeguard of 30 years has no plans to stop

Martin White, who has been a lifeguard at Treyarnan Bay in Cornwall for 30 years, said he has no plans of stopping

A lifeguard of 30 years' service says "you don't really switch off".

Treyarnan Bay RNLI lifeguard Martin White, known as "Sharky", has been working at the same beach for decades.

The 55-year-old from Newquay said it was a "beautiful lifestyle" and he enjoyed promoting safety and fitness.

"I will keep going until the young guards catch up with me," he said.

Mr White said he has no plans to stop being a lifeguard

Mr White, who is also a maths teacher in Fowey, added: "I'm still enjoying it, it keeps me fit and it's a beautiful lifestyle."

He works as a lifeguard at weekends and during the summer holidays, and trains between 10 and 12 hours a week.

Mr White said his most memorable rescue in 30 years was at Booby's Bay when he and another lifeguard brought in 23 people.

"We had two spinals that day, that was my busiest day.

"That was a day when we had a really long wave period, so it would go flat for a while and then a really big set would come through.

"They were just getting caught in the rip."

Mr White wants people to stay safe during the August Bank Holiday

Mr White warned there would be similar conditions on the August Bank Holiday Monday, adding it will be a day where beachgoers "must listen to the lifeguards, stay in the area and ask for advice".

Over the years, he has also noticed a change in public attitude towards safety thanks to the RNLI spreading awareness about the dangers of rip currents, the flags and about asking for advice.

"From that we have had a lot more thanks as well," Mr White added.

"On some rescues, we will educate them and sometimes they will ask why it happened and we will then explain about the rip currents, the beach and where they got caught."

He said there were still a few lifeguards in the South West who are in their 40s and 50s and that some of the younger lifeguards "look up to us".

Erin Archibald was trained to become a lifeguard by Mr White, who was also her maths teacher

Among them is his former maths student Erin Archibald, who was trained by Mr White to become a lifeguard. She is now works at the same beach after volunteering at Padstow last year.

"He was my maths teacher at secondary school," she said.

"Everyone at school knows he is a lifeguard and we call him 'Sharky' at school rather than sir."

She said there has been a change in dynamic between them both since working at the same beach.

Ms Archibald added: "I'm used to being shouted at for not knowing how to do my equations but now it's a lot of fun."