A reporter took the plunge into the waters off the Lincolnshire coast in a bid to highlight the dangers of using inflatables on the sea.

Skegness Standard chief reporter James Hardaker volunteered to let lifeboat crews put him into the sea with nothing more than a rubber ring and a lifejacket for company, to help promote the paper's SeaSafe campaign for the 2005 holiday season.

James, who was cast adrift and then 'rescued' in turn by the all-weather and inshore boats, said: "The height of the waves, although no more than about half a metre, made it hard to keep a constant gaze fixed on the shore and impossible to try to swim against the flow.

"Imagining myself as a helpless holidaymaker on an inflatable - with the shoreline growing distant and no lifeboats in sight - brought home to me how a 'harmless' seaside pastime could so easily turn into a terrifying experience given the wrong conditions."

SeaSafe is a Standard campaign to dissuade people from taking inflatables onto the sea when the conditions are wrong - for example in an offshore wind.

James had one simple piece of advice to anyone thinking of doing so: "Don't bother!"

The Standard has also produced advice leaflets in association with the RNLI, the Coastguard, Coastwatch and East Lindsey District Council, and will run regular features in the paper to hammer home the safety message.

Editor John Cowpe said: "We have launched Seasafe because of the never-ending flow of summer callouts which see the lifeboat crews, lifeguards, coastguards and Coastwatch volunteers chasing after people who get swept out to sea on inflatables or lose track of their children on our busy beaches.

"We want to help people realise, while they have a super holiday in Skegness, to also stop for a moment to take notice of a few simple safety tips to prevent these things from happening."

More about the campaign can be found at www.skegnesstoday.co.uk.