A SAFETY scheme to protect children on Bournemouth’s beaches has been extended to Poole for the first time.

LV= KidZone has been running for 11 years and works by giving children free colour-coded wristbands that match up with clearly marked zones along the seafront.

Specially-trained LV= KidZone staff, as well as seafront rangers and RNLI lifeguards, are then on hand to help reunite missing children with their families.

The 2017 scheme launches this week, before children break up from school, and will run every day throughout the school holidays.

For the first time, the scheme has been expanded to cover the beaches of Poole.

Assistant senior ranger Tom Harris said: “Bournemouth and Poole’s beaches are extremely popular throughout the summer holidays and our soft, golden sand makes them the perfect playground.

"Each year, we team up with LV= on the KidZone scheme to make sure that children have fun and stay safe on our award-winning beaches.”

Sam Preece, head of corporate responsibility at LV= added: “As always, we’re delighted to be supporting LV=KidZone. It is such a simple but effective scheme - in 2016, 184 lost children were reunited with their families. The extension of the scheme to include Poole is really exciting for us and the team as it means we are able to help keep many more children safe along the Bournemouth and Poole coastline.”

Families can find out more by enquiring at the Tourist Information Centre at Pier Approach.