28/05/2026
2 children missing on the sand. 4 casualties in the water. Same Cornish beach, same time.
That was Gwithian on Sunday afternoon, May 24th. The bank holiday heatwave brought thousands of people to Cornish beaches, and the RNLI lifeguards at Gwithian handled both crises in parallel, coordinating a search for the kids on the sand while at the same time pulling four people from the water.
This makes up just a few of at least 10 lives saved this week by our fantastic lifeguards and RNLI 👏🏼
At Treyarnon, an inshore rescue boat pulled off a training exercise to drag a swimmer out of a rip current. Porthtowan - dozens of rescues across the weekend.
Across the south west, the RNLI have described the weekend as "stretching them to their limits."
With high risk of cold water shock and rip tides at this time of year, it's been a challenging half term for these heroes.
Every one of them deserves a proper thank you this week! 🙏
