RNLI

This year marks 25 years of our lifeguards making your seaside safer 🏖️ Since 2001, our lifeguards have saved more than 2,000 lives and prevented countless tragedies in and near the water. Heading into their 25th summer, our lifeguards now patrol more than 245 beaches around the UK and Channel Islands, continuing to save more lives by sharing important safety advice to beachgoers and rescuing people in danger. No two beaches are the same. Their terrain, their hazards, and their visitors are all different, but one thing they all have in common is that when the lifeguards’ flag is flying, they are safer. To celebrate this amazing milestone anniversary and our people, we have lots of exciting things to share over the next few months, so keep your eyes peeled! This is all made possible thanks to our partner beach and landowners, local authorities, lifesaving clubs, emergency service colleagues and our wonderful supporters. Thank you 💙 Find out more about our lifeguards and beaches via the link in our bio. [Visual description: A compilation video, showing our lifeguards in action. From close-up portrait shots near the sea, to lifeguards on rescue boards, rescue footage of a person in the water, lifeguards speaking to the public and drone shots of UK beaches. Archive images from the early 2000s of lifeguards on beaches are also shown.] #RNLI #RNLILifeguards25Years #Lifeguards #BeachSafety #WaterSafety

Earlier this month, our volunteer @conwy_lifeboat crew were training to rescue people from the water, when they heard on the radio that perhaps four legs were in danger, not two 🐾 Approaching the scene, they could hear Tina barking at the seagulls from a sandbar she'd become stranded on. Thanks to her high visibility buoyancy jacket, she was easily spotted. She gave volunteer crew member Billy quite the run around as he attempted to rescue her! Thankfully, she was soon safely aboard their D class lifeboat. Once on board, Tina was kept warm and returned to her very relieved owner 💙 Remember: 1. Keep dogs on a lead if you are close to cliff edges or fast flowing rivers. 2. If your pet enters the water or gets stuck in the mud, move to a place they can get to safely and call them. 3. Don’t get yourself into danger while trying to rescue a family pet from the water. Call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. [Visual description: Image one - two RNLI crew members in their yellow and black drysuits and red life jackets are sitting in an RNLI D class lifeboat smiling at the camera. Tina is wearing a high visibility buoyancy jacket in between them. Image two - one of the RNLI crew members wearing their kit is sitting in an RNLI D class lifeboat smiling at the camera. Tina is wearing a high visibility buoyancy jacket and is standing next to the crew member in the lifeboat. Image three - in the distance an RNLI crew member is walking on a sand bar towards Tina the dog with the sea surrounding them. ] #DogRescue #RNLIRescue #RNLIVolunteer

Stuck in the mud? Here’s what to do… Keep an eye on your surroundings - if the ground is becoming sticky or unstable, retrace your steps. If you do get stuck, sit back to spread your weight evenly and fight your instincts to wriggle around as this could lead to you sinking further. Discourage others from trying to help you, as they will likely get stuck too. Always call 999 or 112 and ask for the coastguard. They will send the most appropriate asset to assist you. Check the weather and tide times before heading to the coast and look out for signage about local hazards. 📹: Rescue: @rnli_cleethorpes Safety advice: @whitby_rnli_lifeboat [Visual description: The video begins with footage of a casualty being rescued from mud by two RNLI volunteers. The video then cuts to a Whitby RNLI crew member talking to the camera, he is wearing a yellow RNLI jacket and Whitby beach is visible in the background. He talks about safety tips for getting stuck in the mud.] #RNLI #RNLILifeboats #MudRescue #DayAtTheBeach

Meet Claire, one of our wonderful face-to-face fundraisers 🤩 Fundraising along the beautiful North East coast, from Holy Island to Tynemouth, Claire gets so many amazing opportunities to support our lifesavers at award-winning beaches, our lifeboat stations in the local areas and at the RNLI Grace Darling Museum. Claire has been in her role for around six months now, and we recently caught up with her to find out more about what she does and why she loves it! Here’s what she had to tell us… ‘I got into this role because I like the job satisfaction that comes from inspiring support for a good cause. I meet so many great people through my job and it's always a good feeling to both inspire support for the charity and also raise awareness of water safety by talking to the public. 'I love the fun and friendship that we have working as a team, and I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys working in a close and motivated team of diverse people. 'I have learnt so many interesting things about the RNLI operations and the lifeboats, and also developed life skills.’ 💙 Apply to become a face-to-face fundraiser today, follow the link in our bio! [Visual description: Image one - Face-to-face fundraiser, Claire, during one of her shifts at the coast. She's wearing her RNLI fundraiser jacket and hat as she smiles towards the camera. Behind her is the beach and the station crew are using the tractor to launch the inshore lifeboat. Image two - Face-to-face fundraiser, Claire, with one of her colleagues, at a work event. Standing in between them is someone dressed as the character, Toothless, from the How To Train Your Dragon franchise. They're facing the camera and smiling. Image three - Claire is wearing a yellow RNLI Helly Hansen jacket, as she smiles at the camera and stands inside an inflatable inshore lifeboat prop.] #RNLI #Fundraiser #Fundraising #Charity #CharityWork

Jon Tweedlie felt his back break when he hit the ground after falling during a climb at Holyhead’s Gogarth Bay. A @maritimecoastguard paramedic was winched down to the cliff while their Holyhead Cliff Rescue Team gathered at the top of the cliff to plan how to safely get Jon out. In the bay, the volunteer crew onboard @holyhead_lifeboat ’s Severn class used their searchlight to illuminate the scene, as the D class lifeboat waited nearby to support. @trearddurbayrnli lifeboat were also called to the scene to bring stronger pain relief and crew with more casualty care experience. Six hours after his fall, Jon was on his way to hospital. And incredibly, he was climbing again within two months. On the anniversary of his accident, Jon returned to Holyhead RNLI to thank the crew who saved his life: ‘I can’t say enough how grateful I am. People need to know how critical the RNLI is for people like me.’ Jon ended his visit with a fundraising cheque from his grandad’s funeral a few month’s prior: ‘The RNLI was a huge part of his life and he raised money for them at his funeral as well.’ Real life rescues, real lifesavers 💙 [Visual description: A series of six images with text on screen telling the story of Jon’s rescue. Image one - Jon Tweedlie is standing on a ledge at the top of a cliff with rope around his waist and a white helmet on. He’s smiling beneath a grey sky. Image two - Trearddur Bay’s Atlantic 85 lifeboat in the water and someone on a winch along the cliff face, a big searchlight illuminates them. Image three - A lifeboat is in dark blue water beneath a large cliff face at dusk. Image four - An RNLI crew member in their yellow kit stands on the edge of a lifeboat, watching the water and cliff face ahead of them. Image five - Jon Tweedlie is wearing a puffer coat and smiling next to coxswain Mark Wade, who is wearing an RNLI navy t-shirt. They pose with their arms around each other’s shoulders, smiling at the camera in front of the lifeboat station. Image six - A lifeboat is in the distance, facing the cliff face as a big searchlight is shone onto the people on the winch along the cliff face.]   #RNLI #LifeboatRescue #RescueStory #Holyhead #RealLife

Excited to go paddleboarding this summer? 😎 Here’s our SUP top tips: 1. Wear a buoyancy aid - this will keep you afloat if you fall into the water 2. Carry a phone in a waterproof pouch - call 999 and ask for the coastguard in an emergency 3. Avoid offshore winds - these winds could blow you and your paddleboard far out to sea 4. Wear an appropriate leash - such as a quick release waist or ankle leash. Save and share this video so you don’t forget these lifesaving tips 💙 [Visual description: A woman wearing a blue coat and a blue buoyancy aid talks to the camera. There’s an orange and blue inflatable paddleboard behind her and Moelfre’s all-weather lifeboat can be seen in the background. She shows a waterproof phone case and describes the different leashes. When describing the offshore wind, the camera pans to show the sea.]

During the Second World War, Jean’s father, then serving in the Royal Navy, was rescued by our lifeboat crew after his ship was torpedoed. Years later, Jean is still a huge supporter of the RNLI, and often donates to help support our lifesavers. She recently gave a kind donation, along with this lovely note 🥹 Part of the note reads: 'Thank God for RNLI or he would not have been saved. When he came home he told us to always put something in the box, even if it was only pennies. It all helps.’ From the start of the Second World War in 1939 until VE Day on 8 May 1945, our volunteer crews launched 3,760 times and saved 6,376 lives. Can you help us discover more wartime stories? Whether it’s about brave acts at sea, or those fundraising and supporting from the shore, your story’s worth telling! Share yours via the link in our bio 🔗 Gathering these stories has been made possible with the help of @HeritageFundUK , with thanks to National Lottery players. [Visual description: Image one - A handwritten letter from an RNLI supporter. The letter reads: I help RNLI whenever I can. My father was in the Royal Navy during WW2. He was on ships which were torpedoed. At least a couple of times he was rescued from the French beaches by RNLI. Thank God for RNLI or he would not have been saved. When he came home he told us always put something in the box, even if it was only pennies. It all helps. Image two - An RNLI advert from the 1940s, advertising that over 6,000 were rescued during the war. Image three - An old black and white image of the lifeboat crew at Cadgwith RNLI, circa 1943. Six crew members are wearing their kit as they stand in front of the Guide of Dunkirk lifeboat. Image four - An old black and white image showing four RNLI fundraisers at the London lifeboat day in 1932. They're walking down the street holding donation boxes.] #RNLI #VEDay #VEDay2026 #SecondWorldWar #WorldWarII

Our volunteers at @buckiernli used an old, decommissioned lifejacket to show a Brownies group how it can be activated! The kit you help to provide keeps our crews safe at sea, thank you for your support 💙 What else do you want to see our crew demonstrate? [Visual description: An RNLI crew member is wearing all navy and an old red lifejacket, with another crew member standing beside him, holding a cord from the lifejacket. When he pulls the cord, the lifejacket inflates around the first crew member to screams of joy from children off screen.] #RNLI #Lifejackets #LifeboatCrew #LifeboatStation #Charity

Meet Asher 👋 Today, we’re launching the first film in our Proud to Wear My Yellows series with the @RNLI - shining a light on the people behind the kit. The volunteers who make it possible for others to enjoy the water, knowing someone is always ready to help. From the heart of London to the front line of the River Thames, he’s part of a new generation answering the call. For Asher, it started with a passion for the water and a desire to give back to the London community that shaped him. Now, he lives, works and volunteers on the same river he grew up by, serving on the crew at Tower Lifeboat Station - RNLI's busiest station in the UK. Wearing his Yellows means “pride in your crew, trust in your training and confidence in the kit that helps keep you safe in the most demanding conditions." 🎥 Watch Asher’s story. May is home to Mayday - a month of celebrating our partner, RNLI, and raising vital funds so they can keep saving lives at sea. 🎥 @lloydimages

Because you loved it so much last time 🤩 You loved our last hovercraft video so here's @hunstanton_rnli going straight from the sand to the sea. Our hovercrafts are perfect for large areas of tidal mudflats or sand that are too soft for vehicles but the water is too shallow for lifeboats. [Visual description: Footage shows RNLI volunteer crew members onboard a large orange hovercraft. Thry drive from sand straight into the sea at the beach. They are wearing RNLI yellow and black crew kits with red lifejackets. There is grass and woodland in the background.] #MightyMachines #RNLI #Volunteers

Your support this Mayday means we’re able to keep saving people like Mandy. Without your donations, she wouldn’t have met her three grandchildren and we wouldn’t have seen this heart-warming reunion with the @rnli_anstruther crew who saved her life 💙 Donate at the link in our bio. [Visual description: Helmet camera rescue footage showing a D class RNLI lifeboat from a crew member’s perspective. The boat speeds towards a paddleboarder in the water and hands haul the casualty into the boat. The footage then switches to inside the Anstruther lifeboat station. A woman is shaking hands and hugging lifeboat volunteers in navy RNLI t-shirts. She then speaks about her experience of being rescued to the camera. Text on screen describes the 2023 rescue.] #RNLI #LifeboatRescue #Anstruther #RescueFootage #PaddleboardRescue

It’s safe to say we’ve been very happy this April 😍 From fundraisers completing epic coastal hikes and taking on the London Marathon to raise vital funds for us, to our lifeguards preparing to patrol beaches for their 25th season and supporters getting creative with their doughnuts and postbox toppers, you've given us many reasons to smile this month! Do you have a favourite from April? 👀 [Visual description: Images that our supporters and volunteers have shared throughout April, with text over the top to explain why each one made us happy. Text reads: Photos that made us happy this April, the famous Porsche 911 fundraisers funded a new D class at Exmouth RNLI, the Northern Lights above Morecambe RNLI lifeboat station, young supporters learning about our vital work, our incredible fundraisers who completed a coastal hike of the Isle of Wight, seeing our amazing lifeguards training for the summer ahead, our runners getting ready for the 2026 London Marathon, a double rainbow came out for our lifeguards in Northern Ireland, 10/10 doughnuts (no notes), our new Chief Morale Officer and Spotting our supporter’s postbox creations.] 📷 1: JonnyBPhotos on Facebook #RNLI #April #AprilInPictures #Lifeboats #Charity