RNLI: Why was the lifeboat rescue service so busy last summer?

The RNLI launched a total of 8,329 lifeboats last year

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI), which is the charity that rescues people at sea, said it saved more than 30% more lives last summer compared to the previous year.

New data from the charity revealed RNLI lifeboat crews saved 140 people during last summer alone. A total of 349 lives were saved throughout the whole year, 25 less than 2019.

The significant increase in people being saved during the summer of 2020 has been linked to Covid travel restrictions which saw lots of people in the UK head to the coast during the warmer months.

Lots of people are expected to head to the coast for staycations this summer

"It was a quiet March and April, for obvious reasons, but a much more condensed summer period. We didn't see the normal tail-off in the autumn, particularly for open-water swimmers," Gareth Morrison, the charity's head of water safety, told the Guardian.

"Usually in October most open-water swimmers hang up their wetsuit boots until Easter but that did not happen. We think that pattern of behaviour is here to stay."

The charity said an average of 42 lifeboats were sent out every day between June and August, which is around double the number launched throughout the rest of the year.

It's expecting this summer to be even busier as lockdown restrictions continue to ease. Lots of people will be staying in the UK for their holidays this year, and many will head to the British coast.

The RNLI saved 140 lives during the summer of 2020

The RNLI has said it'll need more funding to make sure it's able to keep everyone safe in the upcoming months, and it's currently calling on as many supporters as possible to take part in its Mayday Mile campaign.

People are being encouraged to walk, run, skip or dance for one mile next month to help raise money for more RNLI training, equipment and kit.