A plea to take more care on or near the River Thames comes after Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) lifeboats in London were launched more than 750 times last year.

With 195 people rescued and 32 lives saved in 2016, Chiswick crews launched 180 times and rescued 110 people; Tower team set off 512 times and rescued 72 people; and Teddington sped off 66 times and rescued 13 people.

Collectively they spent 8,485 hours on the water in searches and training exercises, most recently following the horrific terror attack in Westminster where one woman was saved.

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The RNLI works closely with emergency services including the Metropolitan Police, London Fire Brigade, and London Ambulance Service, as well as the UK Coastguard in London and the Port of London Authority.

Teddington. D-576,Spirit of the Thames, three crew members in D class boat at Richmond.

Neil Withers, RNLI area lifesaving manager, said: "Even as recently as a week ago, Tower RNLI lifeboat crew showed they are part of a tight-knit emergency services community.

"On the day of the awful terror attack in London the lifeboat crew launched to search the River Thames amid fears that people had ended up in the water.

"Indeed, one severely injured woman was taken back to the lifeboat station and handed into the care of the ambulance service.

"I was extremely proud of the crew and all those organisations that responded so quickly and so thoroughly on what was a dark day for London and those who make it their home."

While rescuing people in danger is a priority, the RNLI is keen to ensure people have the knowledge and skills to avoid trouble and know what to do if they end up in a risky situation.

RNLI London lifeboat stations launched 758 times, rescued 195 people and saved 32 lives - this is Chiswick lifeboat crew
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Mr Withers added: "In an ideal world our rescue service would be a last resort, and we’d really like to see people paying more attention to safety messages and giving the water the respect it deserves.

"While we will always answer the call for help, myself and everyone within the RNLI would like to see people staying safer.

"Once again we are extremely grateful for the dedication shown by our lifesavers. Our paid and volunteer lifeboat crew at Tower and Chiswick permanently crew the lifeboat stations to be in a position to launch within 90 seconds to any incident on the tidal River Thames.

"Our volunteer crew at Teddington are always poised to drop everything at the beep of their pager."

For information on how to stay safe on or near water visit the RNLI website

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