A sharp rise in sea and beach rescues off the west Wales coast has seen 2009 sail into the record books as one of the busiest-ever years for the RNLI charity.

A 29 per cent increase in rescues from the seven RNLI lifeboat stations in Pembrokeshire and Ceredigion and a 47 per cent jump in the number of people helped by Pembrokeshire's beach lifeguards has been announced for the year.

Tenby was the busiest lifeboat station in west Wales, and made the third highest number of launches out of the 31 stations in Wales.

In Angle, the volunteer crew made 41 launches, compared with 25 the previous year, while the inshore craft at Little and Broad Haven was twice as busy as in 2008.

Rescues at Fishguard were up by ten, while in Cardigan, there were 55 launches, compared to 32 the previous year.

The RNLI lifeguard service, which has been operating on Pembrokeshire beaches for the past two years, assisted 823 people in 2009, against 561 in 2008. Whitesands in St Davids was the busiest beach in the area, with 156 incidents and 183 people helped during the summer months.

Colin Williams, RNLI inspector of lifeboats for the West division, said: "Throughout 200, it is clear that the RNLI's volunteer lifeboat crews and our lifeguards have been working hard to provide a ring of safety around the Welsh coast".

Figures for the last ten years show lifeboats in the division - which includes Wales and the Isle of Man - launched over 10,400 times and rescued more than 10,000 people.

*The RNLI's biggest fundraising day - SOS Day - takes place this Friday (January 29th), with SOS-themed events being organised by individuals, schools, groups and businesses.

Amongst those in Pembrokeshire is Sip Our Soup and Sing Our Songs at Saundersfoot Sports and Social Club between noon and 2pm. The event is being organised by the Saundersfoot branch of the RNLI, with music by local duo Sandalwood, and tickets, at £3.50, are available at the door.  For more information on SOS Day, visit rnli.org.uk/sos