COASTGUARD crews received the highest number of call-outs in a single day for more than four years on Saturday.

There were 340 individual incidents across the whole of the UK in just 24 hours.

This is a 145 per cent increase on the average number of call-outs recorded throughout August 2019.

A huge number of Brits made their way to the coast to soak up the sunshine as temperatures topped 30C.

Sussex was no different, with Brighton beach fielding thousands of visitors over the weekend and Camber Sands car parks filling up by noon on both days.

Coastguard crews said that “packed coastlines and beaches kept us very busy throughout another hot heatwave day”.

In total, the service rescued 146 people and assisted a further 371 people while responding to a wide range of incidents which included some being cut off by the tide and children swept out to sea on inflatables.

HM Coastguard head of operations Richard Hackwell said: “We understand that people want to have fun at the coast and enjoy the heatwave but we urge everyone to respect the sea and take responsibility in helping to ensure the safety of themselves, friends and family. We’re heading into a period of more good weather so we want to remind you to check and double check tide times as even the most experienced swimmer or keen watersports enthusiast can get caught out by currents and tides.”