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Lifeguards warn someone may drown after a funding shortfall has taken lifesavers off some of the country's busiest beaches.
Pauanui and Tairua will be without lifeguard patrols on weekdays for the rest of the summer after cash from the Thames-Coromandel District Council ran out last week.
Pauanui Surf Lifesaving president David Boersen told the Herald last night that the club applied for $130,000 but got just over $90,000.
"It's less than desirable with strong numbers of people still at the beaches. They're full with the second wave of holidaymakers."
Mr Boersen was worried lives could be lost with so many people swimming unsupervised. "The waves still come in and the rips still form."
The next two weeks were traditionally the busiest on Pauanui and Tairua beaches, with more than 30 rescues a week last year.
"There's lots of preventative action too, like moving people away from rips."
The surf club was appealing to the public to make submissions during the council's annual plan process.
"We've so far got 250 submissions so we can put our case to the council and show them the public need this service."
Thames-Coromandel Mayor Philippa Barriball sympathised with the lifesavers' plight, but said there simply was not enough money to fund them for the rest of the summer.
"I would love to give them more but we ultimately can't make ratepayers pay more."
The average yearly income on the Coromandel Peninsula was just $14,700 so asking ratepayers to pay higher rates wasn't possible, she said.
The council had written to Coromandel businesses last year seeking corporate sponsorship and had lowered the rents surf clubs pay.
