RNLI lifeguards and volunteer lifeboat crews in the south west are appealing to people not to let the tide catch them out this bank holiday weekend. This follows two incidents in which youngsters were cut off by the rising tide in Cornwall.

Four teenagers were rescued by RNLI lifeguards on Wednesday when they got caught by the tide at Whitsand Bay in south-east Cornwall. Ian Weaver and Daniel Ross discovered the party at around 5pm on Wednesday evening during a routine patrol along the coast in the inshore rescue boat. The teenagers were unaware the rising tide had cut off their route back up the cliff and were fortunate to be discovered.

Ian Weaver, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor says the teenagers would have been stranded and risked suffering from exposure: "If we had not discovered them they would have eventually been forced back onto the rocks where they would have been stranded until the tide had gone back out later that night. They would have got colder as the evening drew in.' Meanwhile the Fowey RNLI volunteer inshore lifeboat crew were called out on Wednesday to two 17-year-old boys cut off by the tide between Portmellon and Chapel Point in St Austell Bay. The teenagers were taken to Mevagissey in the D class lifeboat, Olive Herbert, where they were met by the local coastguard team.

William Mitchell, Fowey Lifeboat Operations Manager, says people should ask for local information about the tides.

Tide information is always readily available in coastal ports like Fowey. You can ask at the local harbour office or RNLI lifeboat station, or go on line. It's important to understand when the tide is going out and when its coming in so you can plan your coastal walks safe in the knowledge you are not going to get trapped," he said.

RNLI Lifeguards will be at 66 beaches in Cornwall, Devon and Dorset this season to offer beach safety information, advise on any potential hazards and save anyone in trouble.