Brighton Sea Cities

Around the coast of Britain are cities where lives

are shaped by the sea.

Gets the heart going a bit.

Each city is a gateway to the wider world,

and around each city, thousands of people work in jobs

that touch all of our lives.

Lovely to meet you.

Whether it's keeping us safe...

-My casualty's breathing.

-..or keeping us smiling.

Yes, my love? Don't spend your bus fare, will you?

Jobs that keep the nation afloat.

We're on-call 24/7, 365 days a year.

From clocking on in the morning

to relaxing after work...

The seaside beckons.

..around the shores and rivers of their home towns,

water brings people together.

On Britain's south coast, Brighton is a magnet for fun lovers.

We float! We float!

-ON RADIO:

-Description of missing child...

But the heat's on for the seafront team...

He's tied up our patrol boat, tied up our lifeguards.

It's just a massive no-no.

It's all getting a bit lively.

..and trade revs up for the bank holiday.

It's going to be an extreme push to get ready for this evening.

I like sausages.

Brighton's seafront is waking up.

10 million visitors come to the city every year,

so running one of Britain's busiest beaches can be a challenge.

The man in charge is Chris Ingall.

It doesn't get much better than that as part of your working day.

Coming down here, got the warm sunshine now,

beautiful view over the ocean,

both the piers in the background,

then looking out across to Worthing.

Absolutely gorgeous morning. Perfect.

Tourism is vital to Brighton's economy,

and the beach is the city's crowning glory.

Chris and his team patrol eight miles of beachfront each morning,

making sure it's ready to open to the public every day of the year.

Have a quick check round the paddling pool,

make sure there's nothing unpleasant floating in there

from the day before.

I'm an Essex boy, originally.

People always ask me how I got into this job.

I'm still not entirely sure myself, to be fair.

It's a lovely job. It is a lovely job, yeah.

Sometimes, you do realise just how lucky I am to be out here

on a Sunday morning enjoying the best part of the day, sometimes,

so, yeah, I never take it for granted.

After 14 years of being down here, I still enjoy those early mornings.

So it's a fantastic job.

I wouldn't change it for the world.

Behind the scenes, I don't think people realise how much

goes into keeping the seafront going.

This is one of the sort of less glamorous elements of the job.

This shelter's got quite a few rough sleepers in it.

Just by going up, checking that the sleeping bags move,

and I know they're breathing.

Morning, chief. You all right?

I won't wake them up this time of day, but we'll engage with them later

and make sure they're sort of getting as much help as we can.

Sometimes, Chris has to lay down the law.

We do have a lot of people coming down camping on the beaches.

-Morning.

-Morning.

-Good morning.

Hello, there. Just the seafront office, here.

-Yes.

-Are you just down for the weekend, guys?

-Yeah.

-Actually, tonight.

-Yeah, just tonight.

-Just tonight? OK then. You shouldn't be

-camping on the beaches.

-All right.

So if you can pack up by about nine, ten o'clock this morning?

Yeah? Is that OK? All right, thanks, guys. Appreciate it.

Thanks very much.

Nearly half a million visitors may turn up on a busy weekend,

and with them comes litter.

Day after day, the beach teams have to clean up the mess.

Obviously, a couple of people enjoyed a beer on here last night,

so we'll just tidy those up for the visitors coming in in the morning.

Long before Brighton became a fashionable tourist destination,

many families earned a living from fishing.

Neil Messenger is the only fisherman left who still sells his catch

on Brighton seafront.

That's our main catch, what we're trying to catch is Dover sole.

It's one of your prime fish.

You get what you get. That's it.

It's no good saying, "We're going to earn this, we're going to earn that,"

because sometimes you can come out and earn twice as much as you have

today and the next day you can come out and it'll be absolutely rubbish

and you haven't paid for the diesel.

Today's catch will go straight to the family shop. But making a living

is tough and Neil worries about the future of the business.

We've had the shop in the family now for, it must be 30 years.

It's not the best place for a fish shop.

It pays its way. It's not a blank and we do it because we enjoy it.

While Neil is at sea, his son Jack runs the shop.

Well, we ain't got a lot today.

We've only got some plaice and some sea bass and that.

-The plaice look nice.

-Yeah. Yeah, they're really good.

We rely on the summer trade

cos in the winter we're doing nothing.

Like, we pretty much close the shellfish over there.

You know, we might do

a few customers a day in the winter and then over here we get the

regulars. But, you know, it's not going to make a living,

it doesn't pay the bills.

You rely on a good summer, really, like it's been so far.

It's been pretty good. And hopefully it carries on, otherwise, you know,

could go out of business, you never know.

A lot of times I sort of think about getting rid of it,

or, you know, if Jack gets fed up we would pack up straightaway.

I did say to Jack - you can ask him - I said, you know,

if something happens to me at sea, I fell over the side,

or something like that, don't ever think...

Pack the shop up tomorrow. You know,

don't bother with it. Don't think, "Oh, I've got to do it because,

"you know, it's Dad's shop, you know, he'd like me to carry on."

Neil is thinking about retirement, while Jack has dreams about the future.

My dad asked me when I was 15, "Oh, do you want to, you know,

"work down the shop with me?" And the way things are now in the world

and down here,

if I looked for a job anywhere else...

..it won't be as good as this. This could be my own business.

I was expecting more, to be honest.

But it's enough for me for today.

And hopefully he'll catch a bit more tomorrow.

One of Jack's regular customers, Patrick, pops by to collect his order.

Freshest fish in Brighton, this fellow.

It's as fresh as you like but it's very pricey.

Pricey?

-Not when I sell it to you!

-If you can get the right deal, it's lovely.

Beautiful, look at that. Still flapping. Go on, do the flapping thing, Jack.

-Still alive.

-Still alive, most of it.

-Beautiful.

-It's all going today!

I've got three deliveries in Whitehawk.

I can't say, "No, I'm not delivering."

Yeah, but I can't do it because I've got to go...

-Do you charge them delivery?

-They're good customers.

-No.

-How much do you charge them?

-What, you don't charge them for delivery?

-I don't use any petrol on my bike.

It doesn't matter. It's your time. Charge them delivery.

He's a good lad. He'll be all right.

Just needs time.

-Just needs time.

-A lot!

LAUGHTER

Just nurturing him.

Just nurturing him, teaching him the business.

You should be filming that.

Keep your eye on him with these young Polish girls in that cafe.

This is Evelina. She's been teaching me Polish the last few days.

-Yeah.

-I can only say yes and no.

But that's all I really need to know.

Jack's Polish may be coming along but he's still got a lot to learn

about running a business.

Opposite the Palace Pier is the Brighton Sea Life Centre.

Marine biologist Joe Williams and his colleagues have a date with a turtle called Lulu.

All right, all the way up.

OK, so now weigh her.

-Now.

-Yeah.

Moments like these kind of make

the 14-hour days and everything a little bit more worthwhile.

I don't think many people

would be able to say that they've been swimming with a 77-year-old

sea turtle that weighs 28st and, as far as we know,

they're the oldest sea turtles in captivity.

Sea Life is based in an aquarium built by Victorian engineers.

All the water for the centre is pumped in from the sea.

Joe spends most of the day working behind the scenes.

One of his many chores is to keep tabs on the terrapins.

And he's got names for them all.

You can see the numbers on Professor Snape have worn away a lot,

and within another month, they'll be gone completely.

So I will still know her, and still know who she is,

but for the ease of the rest of the team, we'll put numbers on.

Sea Life has over 300 different species on display from all over the world.

But some of the marine life comes from a bit closer to home.

The rocky shores are just teeming with the seaweed that we're after,

but also, that's a great habitat, in fact,

for all the species of invertebrates and fish,

and all sorts that will be living in here.

Potentially not in that case.

Joe and his colleagues are looking for samples in the local rock pools,

which they'll display at the centre.

Definitely picked the right day for it.

Being out, doing something like this,

is quite nice for us to do, as a team, especially.

No!

I caught a shrimp!

-Did you?

-Yeah.

-Let's have a look.

This is a great activity for people to do with their kids in the summer.

Come down and have a look. I did it when I was little, and obviously,

it sparked some sort of passion in me.

With the rock pool samples collected, there's another task on the horizon.

Preparations are underway for the annual beach festival

Paddle Round The Pier.

Sea Life has entered the raft race.

We've just used our scientific brains to make sure that we are

building something that will do what we want it to do, because,

if we don't, we're going to look stupid.

Building a raft that will float is the main challenge.

Joe's colleague, Barnaby, is also having a go.

Joe's not convinced by his team's efforts.

Barnaby there, is a mechanical engineer.

So he reckons that means he's going to win.

But we know he won't.

Basically, our design last year wasn't too dissimilar from what

they're doing. So that's how we, kind of, know it may or may not work.

Like, I hope for their sake it does,

because it won't be as fun if their raft doesn't work.

Our boat is stronger and sturdier.

So I think, pallets, once it's altogether,

the pallets will be stronger than bamboo and bit of rope.

So we've got a lot of bottles in there, which float really well,

-so I think it should...

-Scrapheap Challenge.

It's very Scrapheap Challenge, yeah.

Theirs looks better, but ours is going to be stronger and faster.

Put them lengthways across.

We'll be having a life ring on board, just in case you fall in the sea.

Even if they are floating,

we will definitely have a better time than them.

It's all about the race.

So we'll have a better time, for definite.

The raft race is just a day away.

The Paddle Round The Pier festival is always a great family occasion.

It even gives help to children who struggle to get to the seaside.

Across the city, eight-year-old Jay is at home with his mum, Eve,

and stepfather, Cyril.

He has autism, and he has several other conditions as well,

which are associated with autism.

CONSOLE BLEEPS

Until he was five, he didn't talk,

really, much, at all.

We did wonder whether he was going to speak.

Going anywhere out of the house is really difficult.

And the majority of the time, we don't go out.

Everyday life is a struggle for him.

And everything has to be organised, and prepared,

and explained to him in a certain way, so that he understands where

he's going to be and what he's doing, and if that doesn't happen...

..he can have really bad meltdowns.

-Hello, Jay.

-Come and show me my room.

They'll come and see your room in a minute.

OK.

As you can see, he's half-naked already.

Get off of me! Give it here.

Mummy, can I hold your hand?

You can hold my hand, my darling.

You know, life, honestly, is a bit of a struggle for us.

Take care of your sister, please.

The beach festival is a really important date in Jay's calendar.

Eve and Cyril are determined the trip will go ahead.

Paddle Round The Pier is probably the only occasion of the year where

Jay gets to go in the water.

Or access the beach in a way that you or I, or anybody else would.

Jay's always left out of things

because of the peer pressure out there for him.

So for something that he feels like, it's just about Jay.

It's very important to us as well.

I can't get in.

Welcome to Paddle!

Free to get in. We'd just like a donation.

The city's roasting in the summer heat,

and the 21st Paddle Round The Pier festival is underway.

It's all about getting as many people as possible to have fun in the water.

The raft race is always one of the highlights.

Nice and casual, that was the plan.

Style over speed! Enjoy the travel, rather than race around.

We have built this beautiful

raft out of two open canoes, and we've got a lovely sail,

and we very much hope not to sink!

LAUGHTER

It's not about the winning,

it's just about taking part and having a great time.

We've got good conditions, so, yeah, that should be great.

Paddle Round The Pier relies on volunteers to make sure everyone has a good time.

Volunteer Rob Reaks is here to help the family get Jay into the sea.

Lovely to meet you.

-How are you? Cyril, say hello.

-Hello.

Hi, Cyril, I'm Rob. Lovely to meet you all.

Let's go do it. That's what you've been waiting for.

Let's do the thing you've been waiting for.

Jay seems relaxed, but Eve is worried that his mood might change.

He's really sensitive to certain noises,

so the beach itself is a massive sensory overload.

We're here. And we've had no meltdowns yet,

so that's a positive thing.

Here's yours. That one will fit you. This is for Jay Jay.

There you go. Well done.

Moments later, Jay is beginning to feel overwhelmed by everything around him.

-I want it off!

-I know, I know.

Eventually, Jay is persuaded to head for the water.

His aunt Mel is on hand to reassure him.

You can't go in the water without the jacket, look.

I can go in the water without the jacket!

-Tiana's got a jacket.

-I don't want Tiana to have a jacket!

I don't want to have a jacket!

He's having a bit of a meltdown at the moment,

about putting a life jacket on.

So... But it's a real sensory thing, because it's really tight...

But they are just trying a different size now, to see

if he's going to tolerate it.

Finally, Jay is safely in his life jacket,

and can join Cyril and his sisters in the surf.

He's calm, he's enjoying himself.

Just doing something he would never be able to do normally.

If it wasn't for Paddle Round The Pier, this wouldn't have happened,

literally. This day wouldn't be possible.

It's a massive undertaking, but so worthwhile.

I just feel really relieved, and really happy

that they are in the water, and having a good time.

Thanks to the volunteers,

this is the one day of the year that Jay and his family

can enjoy the magic of the seaside.

That sense of freedom down there, like,

you forget about the world outside.

It's just amazing.

-Mummy!

-Did you have a good time?

I love you. I had a nice time.

I'm really pleased.

What have you got here?

-Stones.

-Are you taking them home?

-Yeah.

-Shall we go and get changed?

-Yeah.

-Yeah? Come on, then.

Ladies and gentlemen, can I remind you, we do have lots of press.

We have lots of international press

with us today. We were in Chinese newspapers, TV, last year,

German, Australian...all over the world!

So, please, please, don't drown!

Down on the beach, the rafts are on the start line.

Sea Life rivals Joe and Barnaby are about to go head-to-head.

If we can come in first and second between us...

-You know what they say, second is just losing!

-..that would be the best.

The crews might dream of winning,

but first, their rafts need to float.

It's held together so far, so I reckon it will be all right. Yeah.

We think it's amazing.

It's the best way to put it, well, we hope so, anyway.

We hope it's going to actually float!

We are very much pumped and ready now.

Very much pumped and ready.

Ready to... Ready to win!

Yeah!

Ready?

-Good luck.

-Thanks, guys.

Joe's team struggles to get the raft in the water,

but eventually they're away.

Barnaby's crew follows just behind.

And almost immediately, they're in trouble.

There's no rule book out here, and no real course,

you just have to stay afloat.

Yay, we're floating.

We might be the last people, but at least we're going!

A round of applause, please, look...

Look at that!

Joe's raft doesn't win, but the team finish in fine style.

We float! We float!

Barnaby's crew brings up the rear.

Just floating back again, just slowly.

And not very stably.

But we floated, so, there you go. We did at least float.

We failed last year, so this year, we floated, so that's a good thing,

so go us! Go us!

Brighton has always found new ways to keep visitors entertained.

After one of its piers burnt down...

..it was replaced by a pier in the air...

..the i360.

On the promenade below the i360,

one of the UK's oldest seaside favourites.

Glyn Edwards has been working with Mr Punch and his friends

for nearly 50 years. Like every Punch & Judy performer,

he is known as The Professor.

Let me show you the booth that I've had since, well, about 1970.

I just love it to bits.

It looks rickety and ancient, and whatever, but it's my second home.

I think I've got a picture somewhere of me hanging up...

Of me with this very booth on the seafront,

when the West Pier was still standing.

It's... It's kind of, you know, it's like they say,

an Englishman's home is his castle.

A Punch & Judy professor's booth is his castle!

Glyn is not the only Punch & Judy professor in this family.

This is my granddaughter, and my daughter, Katie...

THEY MAKE PUNCH NOISES

..who are joining the family tradition in their own interesting way.

Katie is a professor. Roisin, who knows?

You might try it one day?

It's a good way to make money, we've talked about that.

-Oh, yeah.

-Isn't it?

THEY MAKE PUNCH NOISES

Glyn's wife Mary builds and maintains the cast.

This is a very, very old one.

It was very badly battered, but Glyn loved it, and it was very light.

I redid the whole thing, re-dressed it.

It actually almost needs to be re-dressed already.

Mary makes a lot of stuff, other stuff we buy, and, kind of,

Mary re-dresses it.

I've had this one for ages here.

But I wanted a banker.

We had a banking routine in which this one, Bertie Bonus,

came off the worst at the end of Mr Punch's slapstick.

That's the way to do it!

There you go, that's when you were tiny.

He just lives for the crowd reaction, and for passing that on,

passing that tradition on.

It's literally a labour of love, he believes, I think,

that's where Punch & Judy belongs,

100%, on Brighton beach.

# Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside... #

THEY LAUGH AND IMITATE PUNCH

That's the way to do it!

Hi, guys, how are we doing?

-All good?

-Chef Michael Bremner runs a busy restaurant in the city.

How was lunch?

-Busy?

-Yeah, very much.

Good.

-So how is everything going, guys?

-Absolutely superb.

-Still got to see the food, but hey, we've got no doubts about that.

-Is it your first time here?

-Yes, yes.

-Michael's existing restaurant has given him

an appetite for a new venture.

He's on his way to his latest project.

There's a lot of places in Brighton, there's a lot of focus on high-end

dining. It's all about the first restaurant to get a Michelin star,

whereas, I think there's an opportunity missed.

And I think there's people in the middle ground

that want to come out, enjoy simple food, well-executed,

on the beach. That's the kind of market I want to aim for.

It's late June,

only a week or two before the start of the summer holidays,

and the restaurant is well behind schedule.

Hi, guys, how are you doing?

Michael's builder, Aaron, has the team working at full tilt.

We'll finish, it will be finished, it will be up and running,

as long as we can get power into the building, we'll be happy.

While opening the doors is important,

for Michael success means the new restaurant must match his own high standards.

It's getting it right that is important.

As long as these guys are happy, I'm happy, everyone's happy, then, I'm cool.

All the building work is disruptive for the neighbours,

and the council have turned up.

There's a few businesses next door to us that are worried about the noise from the generator...

..and it affecting their businesses.

Which, I understand. So, basically,

I'm trying to get from these guys what's going to happen, and,

essentially, there's going to be some tile cutting, things like that,

so it shouldn't impact them too much.

A lot more painting and things, so I'm going to speak to the council,

smooth them over. A bit of the old Bremner charm down there, and we'll see what happens.

Michael's charm offensive is underway.

He needs to win people over if the restaurant is going to open in time for summer.

It's the annual Pride weekend.

Brighton's streets are packed with glitz, glamour and music.

This is the place to let your hair down, forget your inhibitions,

and catch everyone's eye.

Paddle volunteer Rob Reaks is not going to miss this opportunity.

I always liked dressing up, and I was never discouraged from it.

I even did at school.

I was looking at the pictures, I must have only been about five.

1981, January, I was six.

Dressed in my, I don't know, my mum's boots,

my grandmother's hat,

dressing gown, nightdress.

With a shopping bag!

Six years old.

For this year's Pride,

Rob has something a little more elaborate planned than raiding his

-granny's wardrobe.

-I've got the original sketch here.

Which, in true fashion-designer style, made me look very tall,

and very slim. You've got a top piece.

Which is all made to me, to my measurements, all boned.

It's fabulously tight.

The shoes are my biggest fear.

Walking in them,

and not breaking my ankle...

..for three miles, it's going to be..

..near-on impossible! But...

..aren't they fab?

Times have changed. I'm much more comfortable.

I don't know that I would have done this 20 years ago, as a protest.

I'm doing it because I can, and I want to.

And that's what's amazing about the Pride festival.

Just look, kind of, right here.

That's it.

It's changing your personality, just for a little while, to...

..indulge and enjoy the event slightly differently to, perhaps,

if I went as me.

I've actually got another drag queen after this.

-Have you?

-Yeah. But, of course, we won't make him look as good.

-Oh!

And with a few finishing touches, Lady Yuyu is born.

Yeah!

-You look wonderful.

-Thank you.

From the moment she hits the seafront, Lady Yuyu is a smash.

Brilliant, love it. Absolutely love it!

Singing? I don't sing.

There's a mirror in there, I was just checking myself out.

If in doubt, just spin round.

Absolutely amazing. My wig stayed on, and happy Pride, everybody.

Amazing!

There's a new view taking shape from Brighton's beach.

And it has an important role in our future energy needs.

Rampion Offshore Wind Farm is the first of its kind off Britain's south coast.

It can generate enough electricity for nearly half the homes in Sussex.

Chris Tomlinson is the project's development manager.

And he's worked on Rampion since it was on the drawing board.

It's an absolute feat of engineering,

it always staggers me when I come out here, and I have to say,

when I look at the wind farm out here,

I always have a sense of pride. It's tremendous.

When we've been constructing the wind farm, at peak

we had a workforce of up to 750 people working offshore.

We are now nearing completion of the physical elements of the scheme.

The last turbines have been installed,

but there's still a lot of testing and commissioning work going on.

Working offshore is always a challenge.

First of all due to the engineering -

water depths varying between 20 and 40 metres.

Very complex geological site conditions here in the seabed,

and we've got boulders, we've got unexploded devices we have to clear.

So, absolutely, lots of things to consider before we get to the actual construction side.

We've got 116 turbines, we've got the monopile foundation,

which is piled into the seabed.

And then on top of that we've got the yellow transition piece,

which the turbine tower is then installed on top of,

this is some serious heavy-lifting stuff going on here.

Each of the blades weighing around 18 tonnes.

And a blade length of 55 metres.

It brings out the best, I think, in human endeavour and, you know,

engineering design and teamwork.

Real ingenuity, I think it's tremendous,

and it's helped build something remarkable like this,

it's going to have a fantastic,

positive impact on climate change and securing our energy supplies for the future.

Michael Bremner's new restaurant on the promenade has finally been given the go-ahead.

It's quite satisfying once you finish, you know,

cos it's like... This two days ago was literally like a building site.

None of the chairs were out or tables were built,

me and the lads built the tables yesterday.

You wouldn't have believed it's the same place as this time two days ago.

But, yeah, I'm quietly confident we're going to be good.

So night-time this is all lit up.

Michael's business partner, Jim,

has come to keep an eye on his investment.

I've known Michael all my life.

We opened 64 Degrees about four years ago.

So this is our second venture together.

It'll be good.

Head chef Josh and the whole team are flat-out.

Even Jim has to get his hands dirty.

Plant you some nice flowers here, something's got to be nice.

Today, it's a massive day today, because we've got...

We're going to, hopefully, open the doors.

Obviously anything could happen between now and five o'clock.

But I've kind of put it out there on social media saying that we're going to open tonight.

-You're blind baking them?

-Some things are out of Michael's control.

Including the British weather.

Game time, wish me luck.

We're trying our hardest to get ready for dinner.

Obviously we've got to set up the whole menu, we only got in

yesterday, so it's going to be an extreme push

to get ready for this evening.

I enjoy coming into the kitchen

and doing these sorts of, you know, getting involved here,

so it takes my mind off the actual other things, like...

..business, life things.

You just clear your mind and just focus on executing something that

you want to eat yourself, you know,

and it's quite soothing for me to do that.

Even if we do no-one

everyone has got themselves ready to be ready.

So...

For me, that's all right.

Saying that, you know, you never know, there could be about 50,000

people walking down the beach right now.

Outside it's more like November than July.

I think it might clear up.

Didn't Billy Connolly say,

"There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes"?

-It's just a bit dreich.

-And that's... That's kind of how we've got to look at it.

It's picking up now I've just said that, right enough.

There's people down the beach over there.

Despite the rain, a few hardy souls have made it out, and finally,

Michael's restaurant is open.

First table is in.

Let's see what happens.

Let's do it. You're the first ones!

Yeah!

CHEERING

-So I'd just like to give you some bubbles to start with...

-Thank you.

..as a thank you for being the first.

Two customers in. I mean, there's a long way to go.

We were excited to come, weren't we? So...

We thought it might be busier so, yeah, left plenty of time,

and then got soaked!

Follow me this way, I'll show you to a table for four.

It's lovely, to see people coming in at this time of night.

With the weather, I didn't think anybody would, you know.

Hi, good evening. How are you?

-Hi.

-You're coming to see us?

-Yeah. Have you a table for three?

-I can certainly do that for you.

-Thank you.

It's a successful evening, I'm happy with how everything has gone.

I think now is when the real work starts.

You know, before's stressful, because it's out of my control.

Now is the exciting time.

It's been a long summer.

But there's one more big date in the diary.

The August bank holiday is round the corner.

Seafront manager Chris Ingall needs to keep his lifeguards team on their toes.

This coming weekend could be pretty busy.

Looking at the forecast, the temperature rising up a bit, lighter

winds, sunshine, so the beaches are going to get pretty squashed.

We work such a long, sort of, working day,

it's very hard to get all the team together.

So every Wednesday morning we have a training session.

It's all just getting it into their heads, so if anything does happen,

they go into automatic mode, and we can get the job done.

There are 30 lifeguards in Chris's team.

They can expect to deal with hundreds of incidents every year.

I really enjoy coming down to training.

It makes my day really long, but it's a great start.

The team spirit amongst the whole group... You've got different ages,

you've got old people like me, and you've got all the youngsters,

my daughter's a lifeguard as well.

So it's great to be a part of it.

It's important that everyone knows the drills.

When the real thing happens, they'll have to move quickly.

OK, deep breathing.

Can you hear me? Yeah? You're going to be fine.

Just try and relax as much as you can, OK?

We're just going to take you out gently.

Keep yourself nice and still if you can.

I'm getting on a bit, it always takes a bit more out of you each time.

I have to train hard, keep training hard, but, yeah, jumping in and out,

running around, a good start to the day.

So I'll be happy to have a hot shower, cup of tea,

get back onto the desk.

With a busy weekend, it's key that they all remain focused.

The last thing we need to do is sort of take our eye off the ball, as it were.

SEAGULLS CRY

Down at the fish shop,

Jack is also getting ready for the busy weekend ahead.

Can I have two jars of cockles, please?

He's heard about what might just be a new customer.

I'm just getting some lobsters ready,

and I'm going to go to one of the restaurants along the seafront,

because they've recently just opened, and I was hoping

that I might be able to get them to buy some lobsters.

We're only a small business,

so we rely on the restaurants with the lobsters

and all that sort of thing.

In this case, the restaurant is Michael Bremner's new venture.

It's the first time I've been to this restaurant.

I need to find it, before I can sell anything to them!

I don't, I've never even met the guy, so I don't know...

He might be horrible!

A good deal with one of Brighton's best-known chefs would be a real achievement.

Hello, I'm looking for Michael.

He is inside the kitchen.

OK.

-All right, mate, how are you doing?

-I'm Jack. Are you Michael?

-Michael. Yeah.

-Bank holiday's coming up, it's going to be busy...

Do you sell lobsters, first of all?

-Yes.

-So these are, like, 600 size.

They look great.

-Or, you know Regency, Melrose...?

-Yes.

-They normally do 600g.

So I didn't know if you'd done the same.

They are 500g.

But we are going to probably get some more tomorrow.

Yeah, yeah, I'll definitely have them off you. Thanks a lot, buddie, cheers.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

-You don't get any better than that, do you?

Straight out of the sea. Like, moments ago.

They are perfect.

Great deal. I'm very happy.

I've got the money, so I'm very happy.

And he wants six more tomorrow, so that's at least another £60.

-You know, you've got to try your luck.

-Jack's quick thinking has paid off.

Another new customer who will help to keep the shop going when the tourists have gone home.

Good morning, it's Mike on BBC Sussex

by the seaside for a bank holiday breakfast.

Lifeguard Tyrone is checking in with Chris at the seafront office.

It's looking a great day out there, isn't it?

It's going to be warm, it's going to be sunny. Flat water, lot of people in the drink.

-I'm over on five.

-There's a big scooter rally going on as well today.

-Oh, is there? Right.

-Loads of riders going to be setting up down there,

-a lot of scooters around.

-Are they closing Madeira Drive, or are they...

-It's not a full closure, no.

-Right.

-No worries, cheers, then, bye-bye.

Yeah, Volk's, Madeira Drive.

-Up here, isn't it?

-It'll start there, yeah.

I love Mods, man. I love Mods.

-RADIO:

-And a look at the weather - we can expect a fine,

largely sunny day, top temperatures today of 27...

60 miles away, one group of Mods are gathering for their trip to Brighton.

Happy birthday, mate.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

Bernie Walsh and his mates still remember the time when they were at

the heart of a youth culture that revolved around fashion, music,

and scooters.

This is an annual pilgrimage none of them wants to miss.

The seaside beckons!

I remember when we got our first Fred Perrys, back in 1979,

and finding the whole world an orbit of Mods.

So, we've all been riding scooters, most of us here, for...

..probably nearly 30 years for some of us.

Our mates' older brothers had the scooters, and you wanted one,

and I wasn't allowed to have one.

So I had to save up for about a year and a half, pocket money,

washing cars, doing chores and jobs, to get that money together.

And I bought my first one for about 100 quid.

You spent your year, sort of, maintaining your bike,

hoping it's going to be fine, polishing it, fettling it.

We've run down here without a single fault,

which is a miracle for the best part of 40-year-old scooters!

For many lads and lasses of a certain age, Brighton is the spiritual home

of the Mods, the kind of re-enacting a rite of passage.

In Brighton, the beach is filling up and the seafront team are on the alert.

Renks Griffinwood and her colleague Jason

are well placed to spot any problems.

Because it's so busy on the beach today, and there's so many people,

it's really difficult for the lifeguards to cover everything.

And we get a better view from the boat,

so we go along and are just checking to see if there's anything untoward.

In a couple of hours' time, it's going to be totally rammed.

There's a lot of ground to cover.

My mum was always a quick walker,

and I think I've adopted that speed throughout my life, and in this job,

being able to get to places fairly quickly means that

a good walking speed does help.

Everyone's keeping their eyes peeled.

Romeo Eight patrol, go ahead.

It's not long before the marine patrol is called to an incident.

-RADIO:

-We've got a couple of kayaks under the pier.

And a few people got out of these kayaks,

and are bouncing around near the stanchions.

-It's a false alarm, no-one's in any danger.

-Romeo Eight to base.

Police are congregating at the carousel, over.

Thanks for that.

As the bank holiday heats up, it's a waiting game for the seafront team.

Roll up, roll up for the Punch & Judy.

On the promenade, Punch & Judy are about to take the stage.

The whole family has come to have help Glyn with the show.

There you go, I'll tug you in.

Hello. Today is a special day, it's our grand finale for this season.

We are not all together, often together en masse.

The whole mob of us.

No, that's very rare indeed.

I can't wait to have a go at the marionettes in public, with my mum.

She's a natural, I knew she would be.

Aren't you? She's beating me.

She's like, "Come on, Mum, let's go this way!"

Shall we go and get...? Come on, then.

And now it's time for the star of the show, old red nose himself,

the one, the only, Mr Punch.

-PUNCH VOICE:

-Oh, that's the way to do it!

HE HUMS

Punch was on the beach first. He saw the West Pier over there go up,

watched them build the i360...

Yeah, my money is on Mr Punch still being around when the other

attractions on the beach are completely different.

Oh, that's the way to do it!

Your job is making kids laugh, what is not to like?

Kiddies laughing, having fun, and it's because of something you're doing.

It's the perfect occupation, really.

Thank you, thank you.

ALL: BYE-BYE!

Bye-bye. That's the way to do it!

Bye-bye.

Everyone agrees that working together has been a great success.

I think it went really well,

and now I'm not nervous any more to do the next show.

Do you want to put a coin in?

-I've never done a show we all partake in, which is good.

-Yeah.

Especially having Roisin with us today.

It was beautiful, wasn't it, Mr Punch?

Oh, yes, he agrees.

And Roisin was lovely.

What seaside fun is all about, you know, come down,

might get sunburned, might see a Punch & Judy show.

Come on. Are you coming?

It's what we think of when we think of the great British seaside.

Come on, scruff. Hold hands.

-Shall we hold hands still?

-Yes.

At the east end of the beach,

Bernie and the boys have arrived for the Brighton Mod Weekender.

There are already well over 1,000 scooters here,

all making a pilgrimage that looks back to the 1960s.

Fabulous ride.

For these classic scooter fans, there's more to life than polished chrome.

The Mod culture, it's an attitude to life.

It's Britain's last true, genuine subculture.

I was brought up in the years of the Mods,

so it's all stayed with me.

And the beauty of this is, all the youngsters are coming along,

and they are getting the passion as well.

So the scene will just keep on going.

The temperature's climbing, the beaches are packed,

and Chris's lifeguards are at full stretch.

Romeo Five, and Romeo Six,

this is base.

Description of missing child,

a small lad with black hair, eight years old,

wearing multicoloured Speedos, over.

A missing child puts the whole team on alert.

As an eight-year-old child, you think about where you would go to.

Romeo Five... Looking around crazy golf,

I'll head up onto the upper promenade, over.

Romeo Five, Romeo Five, that sounds like a good plan.

As the minutes tick by, the search is widening.

Give us a little description now,

just in case we've got to put it through to the police, over.

Can you see him anywhere, Jason?

Can you confirm where the parents were sat?

He may have gone back there, and still be on the beach.

Just to let you know, they were based to the east of our post.

With crowds like this, spotting one eight-year-old is a tough call.

Unless you strike lucky.

So I'm just checking he's not joined another party.

-Are you

-BLEEP?

-Yeah.

-Ah!

Relax, everyone, I've got him here.

We're walking back. Five, out.

We've got everyone looking for you, man.

Where you been? Eh?

-I wanted to...

-Hey, dude, don't worry, man, it's cool.

Listen, as long as you're safe, that's all that matters,

all right. Let's go and find your mum, yeah?

Yeah, don't worry. Let's go, we'll go this way. Yeah...

Romeo Seven...

And we're there.

At last, the missing child can be reunited with his family.

There you go.

I can't go in too close here.

We've got a couple of people climbing on the West Pier, on the edge.

Romeo Eight patrol, not a problem, will head over there now.

I'll go and speak to them.

Today has been nonstop,

it's like, constantly on the lookout for things,

and constantly responding and supporting the lifeguards.

The old West Pier is like a magnet for some visitors,

but it's not the place for two plastic dinghies.

Those dinghies are a no.

The ruined pier has jagged, twisted metal, above and below the water.

Those dinghies, they just have...

One little pin would just deflate them.

Renks and Jason are trying to keep people out of danger.

It's really rickety, it might just fall apart.

OK.

Mind the spikes, as well.

There's lots of spikes sticking up around here.

The actual bylaws, boats inside swimming zones, and speed limits,

but the rest of it is just safety, really.

And the only thing - we end up having to sort of help them out

if they get into trouble later.

All along the promenade, bars and cafes are doing a brisk trade,

and that brings a whole new set of problems.

I mean, with this amount of bars, and people kind of

letting loose for the weekend,

and this is probably the last big weekend of the summer.

But I think there's been a bit too much drinking, a bit too much sun.

Coming up to the end of the bank holiday Monday,

and it's all getting a little bit lively.

Within sight of the beach team's control room,

the lifeguards have pulled a woman out of the surf,

and she's definitely had one too many.

She must be 35, put people in danger, put herself in danger.

Yeah. It's very, very frustrating.

OK, are you looking after her?

On a day like today, she's had some drinks, yeah, quite a few.

Then she's decided to go for a swim.

So it's tied up our patrol boat, tied up our lifeguards,

tied up me for an hour.

It's just a massive no-no.

There's no time to dwell on it, Chris has been called to another incident,

this time, the lifeguards have rescued an injured man from the water.

ALARM BLARES

In trouble in the water,

pulled in by the boat and then by us on the board.

About six of us lifted him in and isolated him.

We've just got him on the edge of the beach now.

The weekly training sessions have paid off yet again.

Getting someone out of the water is always

difficult and you've got to be super together, work as a team,

make sure everyone knows what they're doing.

Hopefully, that's the last one for this bank holiday.

Yeah, slowly we can start sort of wishing people a nice journey home,

and get home ourselves.

The sunshine has seen thousands of people enjoying

Brighton's seafront during the bank holiday.

Conditions are perfect for the scooter ride-out.

On a day like this, it will be a fantastic little ride-out.

Probably in the order of about 1,500 scooters.

Today, with the sun out, God knows how many.

It might be in excess of 2,000.

On the command of, you know, everyone to start their engines...

..just a complete cloud of two-stroke.

Today it will be a bit of fun.

We will lose each other, there's no doubt about it.

You can't stay tight on that ride.

So it'll probably just descend into chaos!

This is a vintage year, I've never seen sunshine on three days.

This has been very special this year.