Cleethorpes RNLI "A third busier" than usual
The RNLI in Cleethorpes say they've far surpassed their average annual callouts - with four months of the year ahead.
The RNLI in Cleethorpes said they have already been a third busier than they would expect to be this year, and will see further callouts through the rest of 2023.
Despite cold and wet weather in July and August, the summer has been busy with people heading out to the beach despite the forecast, and many ending up in difficulty.
Matt McNally, who works for the RNLI in Cleethorpes, said: " We've been called out 72 times so far this year. Normally in a full calendar year we get called out around 50 times so we're maybe a third busier than we are normally."
The number of paddleboarders getting into difficulty is partly responsible for more call outs
The main hazard of the area is the tide at Cleethorpes beach, which draws beachgoers out past the pier, and then comes back in, often leaving people stranded in the middle.
Matt McNally said: "On the edge of the estuary the tide comes in and goes out a long way -over a mile in some places.
Bits of the beach that look like they're just beach when you walk out in the day, could have turned into a sandbank as the tide comes in when you go to come back to your car"
The RNLI saved the lives of 44 paddleboarders nationally between 2020 and 2022. It is thought that paddleboarding is part of this year's rise in callouts in Cleethorpes.
The belated hot weather recently led to more people being cut off by the tide
Matt McNally said: "People going out on paddleboards when the wind is going offshore and when you are on a paddleboard you are almost like a big sail so if the wind is blowing offshore it can be very difficult to paddle against that wind and get back to shore especially as the tide's going out.
"The paddleboard has become a more common retail thing and people are buying them and aren't getting safety advice or lessons before they venture out onto the sea and we're having to get involved a lot more often."
RNLI says people need to take extra care
The spike in warm weather at the start of September led to a late summer surge in visitors to the beach.
During the hottest period, the RNLI in Cleethorpes were called out on several consecutive evenings to rescue people cut off by the tide.
They advise people to be aware of when the tide is going to come in when they visit the beach, and have warned people to get away from the outer part of the beach at least four hours before the tide comes in.