ARCHIVED - Alicante kicks off extended beach season on the Costa Blanca

Rescue services have been increased and all beaches are now smoke-free in Alicante comarca, Valencia region.

An extended beach season in Alicante will run from this week until September 15 with the hiring of 46 lifeguards and monitors to keep the coastline safe.

The lifeguard rescue service is operational at San Juan, Postiguet, Albufereta, Urbanova, and Almadraba beaches from 10am to 8pm every day of the week.

Although swimmers are advised that Tabarca and Agua Amarga won't have rescue teams on hand in case of emergency until June 15, when they will operate from 11am to 7pm.

For people with mobility difficulties, an 'accessible beaches' service will run from July 1 to September 15 at access 10 of San Juan beach, access 13 at Postiguet, and access six at Saladar-Urbanova beach.

For the first time, the service is also being offered at Tabarca, while platforms and access aids will be installed at Albufereta and Almadraba beaches.

And for the visually impaired, a new initiative will see beach information broadcast in several languages, including English.

To help avoid crowds at the popular Postiguet beach, a traffic light system will control capacity, with 13 accesses to the coastline. 

As a precautionary measure, CCTV will monitor capacity levels, as was the case last year when none of the city's beaches were forced to close due to over-crowding.

Alicante has five Blue Flags on its Postiguet, San Juan, Albufereta, Saladar-Urbanova and Tabarca beaches, the latter recently renewed after its distinction last year.

This international recognition, which is awarded by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) every year, rewards both the quality of the services provided in the sand and in the water, as well as environmental management, accessibility, safety and cleanliness.

IMAGE: Aytuntamiento de Alicante