People had the chance to look around a seaside town’s new accessible beach huts as a special event was held to help raise funds for a disability advice organisation.
A beach party at the new Eastern Edge Beach Huts at Lowestoft South Beach attracted a good response.
Organised by Disability Advice North East Suffolk, it included games from the RNLI, face painting, Get Suffolk Reading activities, raffle prizes, a tombola, cake sale and more games from Everyone Active.
Trish Riches, manager of Disability Advice North East Suffolk, said that one of the aims of the beach party was to highlight the new accessible beach huts while also having fun on the sand.
She said: "We have hired two huts today with financial support from an East Suffolk councillor.
"They are accessible with no raised decking so that wheelchairs and pushchairs can easily go inside.
"They can open up in the middle with a joining side door to create one big one.
"We have had people come today to try them out and they have been able to turn a wheelchair around inside the enlarged space.”
As well as raising some funds and raising the profile of the organisation, Mrs Riches said: "We have given out free ‘radar‘ keys (normally £4) to those who are eligible to access disabled toilets and also issued sunflower lanyards and car stickers to people with an invisible disability.
"The response to the beach huts has been very good and people like the idea that they can open up so maybe a couple of families with disabilities can share.
"All the huts, both single or double, are available to rent with hire periods for one, two or three days or for a week
"We are really happy with the beach party and hope this will be a yearly event for us."
Waveney MP Peter Aldous visited the event and said: "We have got a great beach here and these new beach huts have been designed with accessibility in mind.
"We need to ensure that Lowestoft South Beach gets the reputation as being accessible to everyone.
"Further along the sands we have the new boardwalk so it’s a beach for all.
"The design of the beach huts is very futuristic and has certainly got people talking.
"It is quite simple and straightforward and also includes units to accommodate people with disability issues who need more space and the way these huts can be opened up to do that is all part of the offer of Lowestoft being a beach for all."
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