Places features

Weymouth beach is one of the finest beaches in Dorset, if not the UK.

With over three miles of beach and promenade, looking after the area is an essential job carried out by a whole team of people, many of whom are working before most of us get out of bed in the morning.

At the centre of the beach management team is a beach control centre that looks after the smooth running of the beach and promenade.

From here, all the day to day jobs are coordinated.

They include cleaning the beach with a tractor-led machine - often running over abandoned sand castles made the previous day.

The RNLI lifeguards who ensure all sea bathers are safely looked after as they swim.

Then there's the deckchair attendants, and, of course, Weymouth's famous beach donkeys, providing rides up and down the beach.

BBC South's Georgie Palmer got up at 4.30am to experience some of the pre-sunrise maintenance work that goes into keeping Weymouth beach looking its very best.