The number of people helped by Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeguards on beaches across the UK and Channel Islands almost doubled in 2025 amid concerns the Middle East crisis may lead to a busy summer period.
The charity helped 18,000 people in 2023 and 2024, including 1,371 illegal migrants who crossed the English Channel via small boat. However, that number almost doubled last year, with more than 35,000 people needing assistance from the RNLI.
The rise has been explained by a combination of good weather and increased interest in seaside activities.
The charity is celebrating its 25th year of lifeguard services and is preparing for increased risk as more people holiday within the UK due to the rise in the cost of living.
The RNLI began patrolling the seas in 2001, with Cornwall and Dorset the first areas to be covered, but now the charity has expanded to operate on almost 250 beaches.
Peter Dawes, RNLI lifeguard general manager, told The Guardian: “The statistics vary each year depending on the weather.
“Last year, with the bulk of summer being reasonably good, a lot of people went to the beach.
“The other variation that comes into play is a broader economic one. If we get a lot of people staying here for a holiday, then we are busier.
The amount of people needing help from the RNLI almost doubled in 2025
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“It’s something we’re watching at the moment, with things going on around the world.
“We constantly assess the risks on our beaches, but part of that is how people are going to interact with the beaches. You have to be prepared."
The RNLI has saved 2,165 lives and has helped almost half a million people.
The help they provide ranges from rescues from water to returning lost children and delivering first aid or casualty care.
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The RNLI are celebrating their 25 anniversary this year
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They have responded to 300,000 incidents and have carried out 4.8 million preventative actions.
Mr Dawes also pointed to other reasons for the increase in the use of the charity.
He continued: “At different stages, we watched the development of coasteering and how more people have gravitated towards the standup paddleboards.
“People find new and different ways of potentially getting in trouble and we have to find new and different ways of supporting them."
Lewis Timson, a lifeguard in Newquay, has been working for the charity during their entire quarter of a century in operation.
He said: “Twenty years ago, you’d be putting the flags up and monitoring, but you’d probably be doing a lot more rescues and not quite so much of the proactive stuff, the pushing out safety messages.
“They say a good lifeguard never gets wet but actually, when you’ve got hundreds of people on the beach, the odds are stacked against you and you do end up having to do rescues.
“There’s always hundreds of surfers in the water. But every year there’s a new bit of technology, whether it’s kite surfing, foil boards, electric foil boards … The ocean’s for everybody, so we just try to manage that the best we can.”
Lifeguards will be seen at 39 beaches over the UK during the easter weekend.
The number of beaches that will have lifeguards on will increase to more than 245 in July.
The RNLI previously faced accusations from politicans, including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, that it was acting as a "taxi service" for those trying to enter Britain illegally.
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