The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has released its rescue figures for 2024, revealing its lifeboat crews and lifeguards saved a total of 437 lives last year – more than one life saved for every day of the year. Across the UK and Ireland the charity’s lifeboats were launched 9,141 times, making it the lifesaving charity’s fourth-busiest year on record.
The RNLI data – captured between January and December 2024 – highlights the continuing high demand for the services of volunteer lifeboat crews, with 9,141 lifeboat launches over the course of the year, and 17,068 people helped out of dangerous situations at the coast. RNLI lifeboat crews saved the lives of 352 people over the course of 2024, whilst the charity’s lifeguards saved 85 lives on beaches around the UK, assisting over 17,000 more.
Just one of those helped by the RNLI’s lifesavers last year is Neil Bascombe from Poole, Dorset. 62-year-old Neil was on a family holiday in Devon last June when he and his grown-up son headed out on the water, Neil in his kayak. Stopping for a rest in a small cove, Neil slipped and fell on rocks at the water’s edge, sustaining serious injuries to his back and neck.
“I was in so much pain. I had blood on my legs, my shirt was shredded and there was a wound on my head. The sun had disappeared. I had never been so cold and I couldn’t move my arms or my legs,” said Neil.
Fortunately, Neil’s son had managed to get back to shore and raise the alarm. Volunteer lifeboat crew members from nearby Dart RNLI were just finishing one of their regular training sessions when the call came in, so were able to turn around and head straight for the cove.
One of the volunteer crew who headed to Neil’s rescue was Tom Shanley, who has been serving on the Dart lifeboat for eight years. Tom said: “Hearing Neil cry out from the rocks that afternoon will stay with me forever. In all my years on the lifeboat, I’ve never been that close to that much pain. When we arrived at the cove we could instantly see this was a very serious situation. With back injuries, you can’t be too careful, but we could see the tide rising around Neil as he lay on the ground – we had to move him or he was going to drown.
“As crew, all we wanted to do was get Neil extracted safely, and get him some pain relief. Thankfully, we had the right training and first-responder equipment to get him carefully onto the lifeboat, and then safely to shore.”
The RNLI volunteers reached Neil just in time. He was taken back to Dart lifeboat station, where an ambulance was already waiting to take him to hospital.
Neil added: “The tide was coming in. I was getting wet. They had to move me, and quickly. I knew it was going to hurt – and that was before I knew I had broken five vertebrae. I was so relieved I was not going to freeze to death or drown. I feel very lucky.”
The intensive training that Tom and his fellow volunteer crew undergo, and the boats and equipment that helped them to rescue Neil so quickly, are only made possible thanks to the generous support of the public. The RNLI is now putting out its own ‘Mayday’ call, urging the public to take part in the Mayday Mile – taking on the challenge of covering a mile a day during the month of May. All money raised will help to support the charity’s vital lifesaving service.
Pete Emmett, Head of Engagement at the RNLI, said: “Our incredible lifeboat crews across the UK and Ireland launched over 9,000 times last year to help those in need, and our lifeguards kept people safe across hundreds of beaches. As a charity, which operates a 24/7 lifesaving emergency service, we rely on the generous support of members of the public to continue this lifesaving work.
“We can’t take any of that for granted. It’s only thanks to this support that we’re able to tackle complex rescues like Neil’s. We’re now coming up to our busiest time of year, so we’re putting out our call for help to raise the funds which will keep our lifesaving service going today and into the future.
“Every Mayday Mile completed will raise funds to go towards ensuring we are ready whenever the call for help comes in. It’s so easy to get involved, and to have fun whilst helping the RNLI save lives.”
Whether you choose to walk, jog, hop or skip, a mile every day in May will help raise vital funds for RNLI lifesavers, so that they can continue to keep people safe at sea. To sign up for the Mayday Mile, or to make a donation in support of the RNLI’s lifesavers, visit RNLI.org/supportMayday
*The RNLI defines a life saved as an incident where, had it not been for the intervention of the RNLI, emergency services and/or a third party, a life would have been lost.
