Lifeboat crew struggling to get through crowds as St Ives is so busy
The RNLI team have issued a plea to the public to help
A Cornish town has been so busy that lifeboat crews have been struggling to get through the crowds.
The RNLI team in St Ives say it has been difficult to get down to the station when the pager goes off in recent weeks.
They have issued a plea and are asking the public to let them through and clear the slipway if they see crew members or hear the siren.
A video has also been released to demonstrate a sounding pager, which goes off when the crew need to respond to an incident.
St Ives Lifeboat said: "It's busy in town, and some of our crew have been struggling to get through the crowds and down to the station when the pager goes off.
"So to help us get to the station quickly to launch our lifeboats, we need your help.
"If you hear the loud repetitive pager sounding as demonstrated in the video, you will then see people making their way towards the lifeboat station, they could be on foot or maybe riding bikes/scooters or driving towards the station, please help us by letting them through.
"Once we arrive at the station, if the area is busy we use a siren to alert people close by that the lifeboat is preparing to launch. When you hear the siren we please ask that you make your way off the lifeboat slipway, as our dedicated volunteers are preparing to launch the lifeboat to an emergency situation at sea. Our volunteer team may kindly ask you to move off the slipway, please respect their request and do your bit to help us save lives. There are plenty of vantage points around the whole harbour to safely watch the lifeboats launch and recover.
"Every moment can be crucial for us to launch our lifeboats and get out to any emergencies.
"Thanks to everyone and your continued support."