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Lifeguard rescues doubled last year, says RNLI

Adela Suliman
News imageBBC An RNLI lifeguard patrols Lowestoft south beach on a bright sunny day, 12 Aug 2024. She is wearing a yellow t-shirt, red shorts and sunglasses and has a red bag over her right shoulder. She is standing beside an RNLI surfboard. Several children are running and playing in the background and there are people swimming in the sea in the distance.BBC
An RNLI lifeguard patrols Lowestoft south beach on a busy summer's day

Rescues by lifeguards for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) more than doubled last year, mostly due to better weather and more people staying in the UK for holidays, the group said.

The RNLI helped save more than 36,000 people in 2025, compared to 17,000 in 2024.

The lifeboat charity branched out in 2001, when it started patrolling beaches in Bournemouth, Weymouth and Cornwall, and now patrols over 245 beaches across the UK and Channel Islands - making it the largest lifeguard service provider in the UK.

It said its lifeguards had saved 2,165 lives since then and helped almost 500,000 people through water rescue, returning lost children and delivering first aid and casualty care.

"RNLI lifeguard statistics vary each year depending on the weather. Last year, with the bulk of summer being reasonably good, a lot of people went to the beach," RNLI Lifeguard General Manager, Peter Dawes, told the BBC.

"The other variation that comes into play is a broader economic one. If we get a lot of people staying here for a holiday, then we are busier," he added.

Rescue figures peaked during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and 2021 climbing to over 40,000 people both years, the RNLI figures showed, with global travel restrictions meaning that more people vacationed in the UK.

"RNLI lifeguards past and present have kept millions of beach visitors safe over the past 25 years and will continue to do so for years to come," Dawes said in the press release.

"If you are planning a visit to the coast this summer, please remember to visit a lifeguarded beach."

The RNLI was originally founded in 1824 when the charity launched its first lifeboat, relying on volunteers to save lives at sea. It currently operates 238 lifeboat services in the UK and Ireland.