A LIFEGUARD’S office is a world away from the everyday nine–to–five slog – and this award-winning photo captures that perfectly.

The dreamy picture of a Brighton and Hove lifeguard sitting on the city’s famous shingle has been featured as a top entry in National Accident Helpline’s #FreshStartPhotos competition.

Nick Board, 58, from Reading, took the photograph called Lifeguard during a day trip to the city.

He said: “It was the only time I’d been there and I was just taking a few pictures when I saw the lifeguard gearing up for the day.

“I like the negative space between the lifeguard and the pier. She was from New Zealand or maybe Australia, and I asked if I could possibly take her picture as she sat there.

“Anyway it was quite a productive day as I won three different photo competitions with the photos I took, although this one hasn’t been featured before. It is definitely my personal favourite.”

Nick’s photo is supposed to fall in line with the competition’s idea of a “fresh start”. Seafront office manager Ross Smith said it was likely the lifeguard was filling out an information board – just one of a number of daily tasks for the city’s unsung heroes.

He said: “I don’t think she is on her break or anything like that. If anything she’s filling out the information board. The board would include tide times, sea conditions and so on, and from the looks of it she is sitting on shingle working doing just that.”

The lifeguard pictured is one of about 30 who patrol Brighton and Hove’s beaches each year. They start at 6am each morning, including Christmas Day, and carry out a full inspection of the promenade and beach to check everything is in order for the day ahead.

The #FreshStartPhotos competition will be open for new entries until April 24. Visit national-accident-helpline.co.uk/fresh-start-photos for further details.