It has been reported that around 70 people attended the launch of the new all-terrain buggy style chair that will allow disabled people access to the beach on Ramsgate Main Sands including some children who had never been on the beach before.

Thanet-based charity Beach Within Reach offers free usage of the wide-wheeled chairs which can be used on sand, pebbles and even in shallow water. This means that areas of land that was previously out of reach of people with certain disabilities is now within reach.

The charity is the brainchild of local man David Shorter and is supported by a number of businesses as well as Thanet District Council. I think that this is a great idea.

David Shorter said that “When we were on holiday in the Norfolk Broads we saw these chairs being used and thought it was a fantastic idea. It’s brought tears to my eyes; I’ve had a lump in the back of my throat seeing all the smiles today.”

Its said that these chairs cost around £2,500 each and were pioneered in the USA, but have also been used with great success on beaches in south west England and south Wales. These chairs use similar technology to that employed on golf buggies, construction site trucks and military desert vehicles, wide wheels and large tyres to disperse weight and prevent the any sinking into the ground.

Beach lifeguards have been trained to supervise the use of the devices on Ramsgate, Margate, Broadstairs and Westgate-on-Sea beaches. And the Insurance costs have been funded by Thanet council.

There are currently 18 of these chairs available.

What makes this even more special is that children with special needs can now go on the beach for the first time, just imagine the smiles that will be on there faces that’s priceless don’t you think.

source