The RNLI has joined forces with St Austell Brewery to distribute beer mats highlighting vital beach and sea safety messages. The beer mats will be in St Austell brewery's 168 pubs throughout the south west, and the RNLI hope locals and visitors to the region will heed the advice and enjoy their summer on or by the sea in safety.

With more people using the sea and beach for pleasure than ever before, the demands placed on RNLI crews and RNLI lifeguards have never been greater. So the RNLI has teamed up with St Austell Brewery, one of the largest independent breweries in the south west, to distribute beer mats displaying beach and sea safety messages.

Kelly Keating, RNLI Beach Safety Programmes Manager, says the local pub is a great place to draw people's attention to the charity's safety advice:

'The RNLI's exists to save lives at sea, and beach and sea safety education is crucial to achieving that. By providing people with information on simple precautions they can take, we can help prevent incidents happening in the first place.

'Along with the RNLI lifeboat, the local pub is often the hub of the community and attracts both locals and visitors. While people are enjoying time with friends and family, it's an ideal and innovative way to get the vital safety messages across. St Austell Brewery has supported the RNLI on a number of occasions and we are delighted they are going to distribute the beer mats in their pubs.'

Jeremy Mitchell, Head of Marketing at St Austell Brewery said:

"St Austell Brewery has long been a supporter of the RNLI and we are delighted to be backing this initiative. With so many of our pubs in coastal locations, I'm sure these beer mats will help to increase people's awareness of how to keep safe in the water over the coming Summer season."

Over 60,000 beer mats will be distributed over the summer to St Austell Brewery's 168 own pubs as well as to many of the 2000 freetrade businesses in the region who sell St Austell's award winning beers . Each one features a beach safety message on one side, and a sea safety message on the other. There are two designs: One reminds people of the importance of swimming at a lifeguarded beach, and highlights the RNLI's lifejacket awareness campaign, which aims to raise awareness among leisure boaters of the importance of wearing a lifejacket at all times.

The second has information on what the beach safety flag system means on a lifeguarded beach, and on the other side gives leisure boaters the information needed to get one of the RNLI's free Sea Safety Checks.

Notes to editors

·Please find attached a picture of RNLI lifeguards and members of the St Ives volunteer lifeboat crew outside the St Austell Brewery pub, aptly named 'The Lifeboat Inn' in St Ives

·The south west division of the RNLI stretches from Weston-super-Mare in North Somerset, around to Mudeford in Dorset on the south coast, and includes the Isles of Scilly and the Channel Islands. There are 35 lifeboat stations and 87 lifeguard patrolled beaches in the RNLI's south west division.

·The RNLI is a registered charity, which exists to save lives at sea. It relies on voluntary contributions and legacies to ensure its lifeguards and volunteer crews have the very best training and equipment.

RNLI media contacts For more information please telephone Amy Caldwell, RNLI Lifeguard Press Officer on 07920 818 807 or acaldwell@rnli.org.uk

St Austell Brewery media contacts

For more information please contact
Jeremy Mitchell, Head of Marketing,
01726 627149, email Jeremy.Mitchell@staustellbrewery.co.uk

or John Casey, Deborah Clark Associates,
PR on behalf of St Austell Brewery, 01208 77900,
email john@dca-pr.co.uk

The RNLI online News releases and other media resources are available at www.rnli.org.uk/press.

For beach safety information see www.rnli.org.uk/beachsafety.

For sea safety information see www.rnli.org.uk/seasafety

St Austell Brewery - further information

·Founded in 1851, St Austell Brewery is known to be one of the oldest businesses in Cornwall
·It is one of only 30 Independently Family Owned Brewers in the UK
·The company owns 168 pubs
·It is the South West's largest wholesale distributor of beer, wines and spirits, serving more than 2000 free trade accounts, from pubs, clubs, hotels and other licensed outlets in Cornwall, Devon, Somerset and Dorset
·The company employs up to 1200 people including part-time and seasonal staff
·The company brews four regular real ale beers: Tribute, Tinners, IPA and HSD
·There are two keg versions: Cornish Cream and Duchy
·The bottled beer range consists of HSD, Tribute, Admiral's Ale and Clouded Yellow
·The company markets its real ales nationally
·The company also distributes a full range of national brands of beers and a full range of wines and spirits under the Walter Hicks label
·The company has eight distribution depots - St Austell, Bude, Heathfield, Ilfracombe, Isles of Scilly, Redruth, Newquay and Cullompton
·The company is a recognised centre of excellence for training, accredited by the British Institute of Innkeeping (BII), offering a wide range of courses to people who work in the licensed trade

Amy Caldwell Lifeguard Press Officer Divisional Base - South Unit A, Longacre Saltash Parkway Saltash, Cornwall PL12 6LZ Tel: 01752 850689 Mob: 07920 818807 email: acaldwell@rnli.org.uk