Ramsgate lifeboats rescued more people than anywhere else in the south east, according to latest figures.

Figures from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution show Ramsgate rescued 76 people from January to June this year – a 15 per cent increase over the same period last year.

The Sheerness lifeboat station rescued 56 and Littlehampton’s RNLI in West Sussex was the third highest with 49.

Ian Cannon, the coxswain at Ramsgate’s RNLI whose job decides which boats and crews go on the launches, said Ramsgate is the busiest in the county because of its location.

He said: “We are right on the corner of Kent and we get a lot of vessels coming down from Medway and London. It’s a good stop-off point. We also have those vessels going up and down the Dover straits.”

The number of call-outs in Ramsgate has increased by nearly 50 per cent from 29 between January and June this year compared to the same period last year. Mr Cannon said the crews were mainly called out to sailing boats and motor yachts.

The Sheerness lifeboat station was the second busiest in the county , with call-outs up by 17 per cent – from 35 to 41.

Gravesend had the same number of launches for the first six months in 2008 as last year with 40. Dover was up by 15 per cent from 19 to 22.

Littlestone-on-sea and Dungeness lifeboat stations were the least busy, with just five and seven launches respectively, the same number as last year.

Out of the total 165 launches in Kent, 55 were to powered pleasure craft such as jet skis and diving boats.

Almost a third of calls to ships w as caused by machinery failure. Others were related to strandings, broken propellers and even an animal in distress at sea.

~Listen: Mr Cannon tells KMFM about his team’s worst call-out so far this year when a yacht ran aground at Goodwin Sands,near Deal.>>>

Andrew Ashton, RNLI’s east divisional inspector said: “Many of the launches were to boats with equipment failure, which demonstrates the need for owners to perform regular maintenance. The high level of rescues seems to show a growing national trend where more and more people are using the sea for leisure purposes.”

For more information visit www.rnli.org

Factfile:

• Since the RNLI was founded in 1824 its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved more than 137,000 lives.

•The charity is made up of thousands of volunteers and staff, which provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the UK and the Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI is always looking for staff and volunteers at its various offices, stations and beaches around the UK and Republic of Ireland.

•It is totally dependent on donations to help it continue providing a lifesaving service to all. It is holding a national day of fundraising – Save Our Souls Day – on Friday, January 30, 2009, which is its biggest fundraising day.

• The RNLI operates more than 230 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and has more than 100 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK.