The beach is a place to have fun, to forget about everyday life and worries. But when people relax, accidents can happen and someone has to be there to help if there is trouble. This is the what the coast guard is for. The coast guard combines two services, lifeguards and public order maintenance.

The first G4S coast guard unit started work in 1998 in Tallinn at Pirita Beach. Eight years later, around one hundred G4S coast guards were on duty at 21 beaches across Estonia.

A coast guard has plenty to do and has to deal with all sorts of requests from finding a missing child to rubbing sun-cream on someone's back.

In many ways a coast guard is a beach psychologist. This is why training for coast guards includes basic psychology alongside rescue and first aid skills. Some veterans have been doing this job for years already, but as the work is seasonal, there are coast guards from all walks of life. Quite a few teachers, doctors, fire-fighters and sports coaches work as coast guards, as do top swimmers, naturally.