Who does it take to save a life? The RNLI Lifesavers Podcast
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) is launching a new podcast of first-hand rescue accounts by the charity’s lifeboat crews and lifeguards.
The RNLI will be launching Lifesavers: An RNLI Podcast on Tuesday 1 October. The podcast gives listeners access to powerful and thrilling stories from the RNLI’s lifesavers.
For the first episode, Anna Heslop, RNLI Cullercoats Crew Member will share the story of how she first got involved with the RNLI. At 17 years old, she was out walking her dogs when she witnessed a teenage boy get swept into Whitley Bay.
Thinking on her feet, she threw him a life ring and called the Coastguard. Cullercoats RNLI responded to the incident and rescued the teenager, thanks to Anna’s quick thinking. Shortly after, Anna, also fundraising manager for the RNLI, decided to join the crew and has been volunteering for the past five years.
Anna also gives detail on her growth since volunteering at the station. She said, ‘I’ve got so much more confidence now, I’m much more driven than I was when I was 17 and wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do.’
‘I love being on the crew so much and I don’t know what I would have been doing if I’d not come into this.’
The weekly podcast series will also hear from five other RNLI lifesavers including Tower crew member Al Kassim, East Yorkshire lifeguard Lauren Cooke, Newquay lifeguard Sam Harwood and Georgia Keating, another crew member from Cullercoats.
Each podcast guest will shed light on their most memorable rescue since joining the RNLI and becoming a lifesaver.
Listeners can download the podcast from iTunes, Spotify or Soundcloud from Tuesday 1 October and episodes will be released weekly over the next five weeks.
Notes to editors
- Further portraits of podcast guests and images are available on request.
- Anna Heslop is available for interview. Please contact Charlotte at the RNLI Press Office for further details.
RNLI media contacts
For more information please email [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
RNLI online
For more information on the RNLI please visit rnli.org. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI News Centre rnli.org/news-and-media.
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.