As a supporter, you are helping our lifeboat crews and lifeguards carry out thousands of rescues every year. Here are some highlights, and see full accounts on the following pages:

6 MUDEFORD | PAGE 10
7 NEWQUAY | PAGE 12
8 BLACKPOOL | PAGE 16

You can also watch and read the latest rescues online at RNLI.org/news or facebook.com/RNLI.

1 DISCOVERED BY DRONES
HUNSTANTON/WELLS
When a man got separated from his friends during an evening walk near Brancaster, Norfolk, the emergency services began a search – with the help of two lifeboat crews. Volunteers from RNLI Hunstanton and RNLI Wells joined Norfolk police, the Coastguard and Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service to find the missing walker. He was eventually located, stuck in dense reed beds at Titchwell Marsh, by a drone. The rescue teams pulled him from the muddy creek, where he was winched to safety and transferred to hospital to make a full recovery.

2 ‘WE’RE HERE NOW, BUDDY!’
BUDE
‘Lean right back, we’re going for this one!’ Bude lifeboat crew shouted to one another, as they sliced through choppy waves to rescue an exhausted bodyboarder. ‘We’re here now buddy,’ the volunteers called as they approached him, and pulled the bodyboarder from the icy surf into their D class inshore lifeboat. They powered him back to safety at Widemouth Beach.

3 SAVED FROM THE WAVES
ST OUEN’S BAY
A surfer was enjoying the water at St Ouen’s Bay, Jersey, when a wave suddenly broke over him, snapping the leash on his board. Senior Lifeguard Kris Heron paddled out to him on his rescue board right away. ‘As soon as we returned to the beach, I performed casualty care to make sure he was OK. We train regularly for situations like this.’

4 BOY TRAPPED IN SAND
FISTRAL BAY
RNLI lifeguards at Fistral Beach, Cornwall, ran to help a teenage boy trapped in a 6-foot deep hole, which had collapsed. The lifeguards began to dig away at the sand and deliver oxygen to the boy who was struggling to breathe under the weight. The teenager was eventually freed and transferred into the care of an awaiting ambulance.

5 CALL FOR HELP
KINGHORN
Kinghorn lifeboat crew launched to a distress call from two kayakers near Longniddry, East Lothian. The volunteers quickly located the kayakers from their personal locator beacon and pulled the casualties to safety onboard the lifeboat. Helm Leanne Taylor explains: ‘One paddler was struggling to get back on his kayak and the pair decided to call for help – that was a good decision.’

Photos: Peter Jeffery, Norfolk Police, RNLI/Nathan Williams