In a year of extreme weather, 2012 was a very busy year for our lifesavers. But thanks to people like you, our lifeboat crews and lifeguards were able to answer the call.
Last year our lifeboats launched 8,346 times around the coast of the UK and Ireland, rescuing 7,964 people - an average of 22 people a day.
Our volunteer lifeboat crew members spent a collective 56,242 hours at sea on service – that's nearly 6½ years in total.
Our lifeguards responded to 14,523 incidents and aided 16,418 people on beaches in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. We’ll never know how many more tragedies they prevented through warnings and advice.
And 2012 was officially the second wettest on record in the UK, making it the busiest year ever for our Flood Rescue Team, which deployed 8 times to flooding in England, Wales and Ireland, rescuing 85 people.
We couldn’t do it without you
This year, our lifesavers have already gone to the rescue hundreds of times and will be called upon next year too. Your support today will help ensure they're ready.
Support us now