RNLI volunteers 'struggling to get through crowds' as tourists descend on St Ives

St Ives has been very busy as people flock to the seaside during the summer holidays Credit: BPM Media

A Cornish seaside town has been so busy with visitors that RNLI volunteers are warning they are struggling to get to around.

St Ives has been heaving with visitors since schools broke up for the summer holidays, but the charity is concerned it is hindering their ability to respond to emergencies.

The volunteers of St Ives Lifeboat Station drop everything when their pagers go off and must get across town to the station. But the seaside town is so packed with tourists they are concerned it is causing potentially life-threatening delays.

A spokesperson for St Ives RNLI Lifeboat station has now put an appeal out calling for people to let them through if they hear the sound of a pager going off.

They 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.

The RNLI are asking people to move off the slipway if they hear the siren Credit: BPM Media

"So to help us get to the station quickly to launch our lifeboats, we need your help as every moment can be crucial for us to launch our lifeboats and get out to any emergencies."

They added: "If you hear the loud repetitive pager sounding you will then see people making their way towards the lifeboat station.

"They could be on foot or may be riding bikes or 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."

In a recent incident, St Ives inshore lifeboat was called out after 6.30pm on July 27 to assist a 14-year-old paddleboarder with a suspected head injury in the Godrevy area.

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The inshore lifeboat made its way to Top Cove where the crew met up with the lifeguard and coastguard teams.

The crew then gave the casualty first aid until the ambulance arrived on scene to take the boy to hospital.

The RNLI St Ives Lifeboat spokesperson added: "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."