2024 rescue statistics released in support of the Mayday Mile
Today, the RNLI released its rescue figures for 2024, revealing that our 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 lifeboats were launched 9,141 times, making it our charity’s fourth-busiest year on record.
The data highlights the continuing high demand for the services of our 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 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. 62-year-old Neil was on a family holiday in Devon last June when he headed out 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 managed to get back to shore and raise the alarm. Volunteer lifeboat crew members from nearby Dart RNLI were just finishing a training session when the call came, 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.’
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 volunteers undergo, and the boats and equipment that helped them to rescue Neil, are only made possible thanks to the generous support of our amazing supporters. We’re now putting out our own ‘Mayday’ call, urging the public – and volunteers and staff too – to take part in the Mayday Mile.