RNLI whips up an ‘Ice Surprise’ to deliver coastal safety messages this summer
Lifesaving charity, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is harnessing the power of social media and the nation’s love of a summer ice cream to help spread vital lifesaving messages during July and August this year.
The campaign will see an #IceSurprise ice cream van travelling round six UK cities: Bristol, Brighton, London, Cardiff, Liverpool and Newcastle during July and August. 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 a free ice cream.
RNLI lifeguards patrol over 220 UK beaches. Last year they saved 94 lives and helped 18,181 people. But despite this, each year, an average 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 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.
Peter Dawes, Lifesaving Services 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 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.’
To get your free tub of Jude’s Very Vanilla ice cream you can find the #IceSurprise van at:
• Bristol, Cabot Circus: 23–24 July
• London South Bank, Queen’s Stone, Coin Street: 30–31 July
• Brighton, Jubilee Square: 6–7 August
• Cardiff, St David’s: 13–14 August
• Liverpool, One: 20–21 August
• Newcastle, Grey’s Monument: 27–28 August
The RNLI is the charity that saves lives at sea around the coasts of the UK and Ireland. Anyone who wants to make a donation to the RNLI can do so on the charity’s website at rnli.org/donate
*Over 13s only
RNLI media contacts
For more information please contact Helen Coatsworth, RNLI PR Officer, on 01202 336507 or email [email protected]. Alternatively, call the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789 or 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.