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Barcelona: Seven-year-old Max Segui has a huge smile on his face as his father carries him ashore at Barcelona's Nova Icaria beach after a splash in the sea.
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Max Segui accompanied by his father Albert. | Segui has cerebral palsy and uses a wheelchair, making beach trips difficult, but today he is using a special service run by the Barcelona city hall which has helped thousands of disabled beachgoers.
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Manuel Molina, 80, sits on an amphibious chair as he is helped by lifeguards. | It includes amphibious chairs, purpose-designed dressing rooms complete with a lifting crane, and nine specially trained lifeguards to help users access the water and enjoy the waves.
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Max with his father Albert Segui and mother Azucena Calvo. | "I can swim and play. And they also have things for people to swim, they gave me a life jacket, a floatie with a tube. People who can't walk always come here," said Segui.
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Puri Merida, 61, sits on an amphibious chair as she is helped by lifeguards. | Owing to the COVID-19 restrictions, swimmers have to book ahead to use the service, but they do not seem to mind.
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Nati Gines takes off her prosthetic leg before swimming. | "It helps us a lot because otherwise I wouldn't be able to go down to swim on my own," said Nati Gines, 58, who uses a full-leg prosthetic ashore and gets into the water in an amphibious chair, after which she is an independent swimmer.
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"This way they make it very easy for us ... they are lovely, they are very attentive." For the team, helping people to take a refreshing splash in the sea is rewarding.
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Jose Manuel sits on an amphibious chair. | "It gives us such satisfaction to see the look of happiness when the people get in the sea. It makes it all worth while," said Gisela Ocampos, 36, team coordinator.
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Luis Ferrer, 74, is helped by lifeguards. | Luis Ferrer, 74, can walk with crutches, but needs help in the water. "I want to feel that I can do things that I never thought I could do and I feel much better for this. I can only speak wonders of the people who help us," he said.
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Disabled Miriam, 52, is helped by lifeguards after swimming in the Mediterranean sea, on Barcelona's Nova Icaria Beach, Spain
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