AS BRITAIN'S coastguards dealt with another record number of call-outs in a single day on Saturday, North Yorkshire lifeguards renewed their warning against using inflatable dinghies at sea.

They also revealed details of some of the rescues they have made in the last week, two of them involving children swept out to sea on inflatables.

Today, HM Maritime Coastguard and Agency revealed it had dealt with 340 incidents on Saturday, saving 146 people and assisting 371 people, making it the busiest day in four years for the agency.

This was an increase of 145 per cent compared to the average call-out throughout August 2019 and surpassed the previous busiest day over the past few years, Friday 31st July this year, when it dealt with 329 incidents.

It called out RNLI and independent lifeboats 155 occasions and aircraft 30 times to help in rescues and searches.

The agency was particularly busy in the south-east, the east coast south of the Humber, and the north-west.

North Yorkshire RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor, James Turner, said: "We’d urge people to visit a lifeguarded beach, to swim between the red and yellow flags and leave inflatables at home. These items are designed for pools, not the sea where they can easily be swept out."

On Wednesday, an inflatable dinghy with four children aged 10 to 13 on board was blown out to sea at Sandsend and rescued by the Whitby Rescue Water Craft (RWC) and RNLI lifeguard Owen Robson.

The same day, the RWC and Whitby RNLI inshore lifeboat rescued a family of four, including one with a serious medical condition cut off by the tide to the south of Whitby.

At Filey, two children had to be rescued after the inflatable they were in was blown offshore.