AMBULANCE bosses have joined forces with lifeguards to provide emergency medical aid on the beaches of one of the region's resorts.

They have equipped the Scarborough lifeguards with a defibrillator, oxygen and first-aid bag and given them additional training.

This will allow the lifeguards to give life-saving treatment before an ambulance arrives.

Lifeguards on North Yorkshire beaches already hold advanced life support qualifications.

Scarborough Borough Council head lifeguard John Stansfield said: "With many of the incidents at the beach or on the foreshore, the lifeguards are often the first people to get to the injured person.

"The more we can do to help treat and make them comfortable at the outset before the emergency crews arrive, the better.