Trail of mess left by vandals as they pull out Bexhill seafront life rings

Officers from Bexhill Coastguard spent several hours the next day putting all the life-saving equipment back in the right place.

They also walked from Hastings to Pevensey Bay along the seafront to make sure no other equipment had been damaged or pulled out of place.

Hollie Jeffery, station officer at Bexhill Coastguard, said she first found out about the vandalism through social media.

She said: “It was reported to us on Facebook by members of the public.

“We walked all along the seafront on Sunday morning from Hastings, to Bexhill and then to Pevensey Bay to check everything.

“It was only in Bexhill towards the Galley Hill end of the seafront where the life rings and other equipment had been pulled out.

“But if there had been an emergency, the equipment would have been unusable. However every single piece is now back in its place. We lost hours of manpower as a result of having to check everything. Unfortunately some people are not educated enough to know how important these items are in saving lives. Nowadays some people have no respect for other people’s property.”