Free ice creams - RNLI charity whips up an ice surprise on London’s South Bank

The RNLI’s new #IceSurprise social media campaign offers Londoners a free ice cream in exchange for sharing water safety messages with their friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.

The campaign will see an #IceSurprise ice cream van park up on the South Bank on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 July, packed full of cooling treats for punters. The van will hand out postcards containing a water safety message from the RNLI. Once the recipient* has shared the message on either Facebook or Twitter, they will be rewarded with their free ice cream.

RNLI lifeguards patrol over 220 UK beaches across the UK and the Republic of Ireland, while lifeboats operate from 237 coastal stations. Last year lifeguards saved 94 lives and helped 18,181 people, while lifeboats launched 8,228 times and rescued 7,973 people. But despite this, each year, an average of 165 people die in the UK at the coast.

The RNLI national drowning prevention campaign, Respect the Water, aims to halve the number of accidental coastal deaths in the UK and Republic of Ireland by 2024. Raising awareness of the dangers of the coast and providing key safety messages to prevent water-related accidents via social media will help achieve this target. The message people will be asked to share on social media will relate to the RNLI’s Respect the Water campaign.

Adam Robson, RNLI Community Incident Reduction Manager, commented: ‘It’s really important that the public understands that UK waters are dangerously unpredictable and that they know what to do should they get into difficulty.

‘This campaign is a fun and interactive way to teach people – letting them and their friends know how to stay safe this summer and not end up as one of our statistics. It’s all about sharing our safety messages with as many people as possible.

‘By the end of the whole campaign we hope to have shared key safety facts with over a million people, giving away over 36,000 free ice cream in the process.’

Anyone aged 13 and over can get their free ice cream. To get your free tub of Jude’s Very Vanilla ice cream you can find the #IceSurprise van at the Queen’s Stone, Coin Street, London between 10am and 5pm on Saturday 30 and 31 July. The Queens Stone is on the South Bank of the River Thames alongside Oxo Tower Wharf, 5 minutes walk east of Waterloo Bridge and the National Theatre.

RNLI media contacts

Tim Ash, RNLI Public Relations Manager (London/East/South East) on 0207 6207426, 07785 296252  [email protected]
Sophie Coller-Nielsen Press Officer (London/East/South East), 0207 6207416, 07824 416615 email [email protected]

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

Learn more about the RNLI

For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.

Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries

Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.