THE mother of a boy who drowned at a North-East beach has called for lifeguards to be reinstated ahead of a crunch meeting next week.

A total of £50,000 had already been set aside to reinstate a lifeguard service on the beach. The service had been removed in a cost-cutting exercise.

But Hartlepool Borough Council officers were shocked to learn that it would actually cost £120,000 to reintroduce lifeguards on Seaton Carew beach, near Hartlepool.

There was an outcry for the service to be reinstated across the North-East when eight-year-old Jordan Moon was swept out to sea and drowned in August last year.

The service had been withdrawn in 2001 but former beach lifeguard Simon Athey had campaigned to have the service reinstated.

He previously offered to patrol the area himself if the council would fund him £9,800 to run the service.

Following the outcry, which culminated in a petition signed by 5,000 people being handed in to the council, Mayor of Hartlepool Stuart Drummond vowed to reintroduce lifeguards and £50,000 was set aside from this year's budget.

A final decision on whether to find the extra £70,000 needed will be made at a cabinet meeting on Monday.

June Wharam, mother of Jordan Moon, said: "No figure of money is worth a child's life. We were on the beach with no one to help us. If this gets sorted out at least one little bit of good will have come from my son's death."

Officers have suggested that the lifeguard service could be limited to the summer holiday period.

However Mr Drummond said there had been estimates that the service could be provided for Seaton Carew and the nearby Headland area of Hartlepool for £98,000.

He said: "With a bit of juggling around, the rest of the money has now been found. I have had numerous e-mails and letters about lifeguards, which shows the strength of feeling in the town, and from my point of view, it needs to be the best service we can have to attract people to the beaches.

"The North Sea is dangerous and risks have got to be made as minimal as possible."