A new tide board to help beachgoers and walkers enjoy the coast safely has been installed in the memory of a former NCI watchkeeper.

The new board detailing the times of high tide at the Burton Bradstock NCI lookout has been fitted in memory of a former colleague, Nigel Keegan, who died last year.

Judy Clarke, one of the watchkeepers at Burton Bradstock, said: “Nigel Keegan was a watchkeeper and he died unexpectedly in the autumn last year and his friends and family very generously donated some money and wanted us to put it to good use.

“We decided this would be a fantastic benefit for the community, for swimmers, kayakers, walkers, anything seagoing.

“We get a lot of people, especially in the summer, come past and say, how long have I got to walk to Freshwater or West Bay. In fact, we tried it out a few weeks ago and it had only been there about 10 seconds and there were some walkers going past saying, ‘yes brilliant, brilliant asset to the community’.”

The board, made by Swift Signs in Weymouth, can be seen from 80 metres away and will be visible while the watchkeepers are on shift, which is seven days a week, 364 days a year with the exception of Christmas day. The watch times are from 10am to 6pm during British Summer Time and 10am to 5pm, or dusk, during Greenwich Mean Time.

The team is always on the lookout for watchkeepers.

Judy added: “We have got a satellite station at Charmouth and at the moment, because we don’t have enough watchkeepers to cover two lookouts seven days a week, two watches a day, we are always on the lookout for watchkeepers.

“At the moment it is open Friday to Tuesday, 11am to 3pm.”

Anyone interested in joining should call Judy on 07786 354403.