Enjoy the Bank Holiday, but stay safe by the water

In 2017, the week leading up to the August Bank Holiday was the busiest week of the entire year for the lifeboat crew of the RNLI with the charity’s lifeboats launching 364 times. August was the busiest month for the RNLI in 2017, with lifeboat crews launching 1260 times. With beaches expected to be busy until the school holidays come to an end in the next couple of weeks, the charity that saves lives at sea is asking people heading to the coast to plan ahead and to check tide times before they go to avoid being caught out by the tide. If you’re planning on heading to the beach, then the advice is to head to a lifeguarded beach and to only swim between the red and yellow flags.

Guy Addington, Community Safety Partner for the RNLI said, ‘The August Bank Holiday is one of our busiest times of the year, it’s when a lot of people are enjoying the summer before going back to work, school or university. The sea is unpredictable and conditions can change quickly, so we recommend heading to a lifeguarded beach. If you find yourself in difficulty or needing help, then one of our friendly lifeguards will be there to help out and offer advice or assistance if you need it.

‘We also recommend checking the tide times before you head to the coast and planning accordingly, or speaking to a lifeguard about the tides. The tide can come in surprisingly quickly, and tide times and heights vary throughout the month. A section of beach that was clear yesterday at 5pm might be completely covered by the sea at the same time today. If you do find yourself in trouble, or see someone else in difficulty, please call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard.’

The advice comes as the RNLI announces the week leading up to the August Bank Holiday last year as the busiest week for its lifeboat crews in 2017 with 364 launches. Most of the busiest days for the charity's lifeboats fell on a Bank Holiday weekend last year. In 2017, RNLI lifeboats launched 8436 times in total.

Notes to editors

• You can find your nearest lifeguarded beach here: https://rnli.org/find-my-nearest/lifeguarded-beaches
• Map credit: Maps created by Esri UK. Maps show: RNLI lifeboat launches for the week leading up to the August Bank Holiday in 2017, and all RNLI lifeboat launches in 2017.

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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.

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