SOUTHEND’S RNLI lifeboat crews rescued 88 people from the Thames last year, new figures have revealed.

The town’s lifeboat station, at the end of the pier, is also the busiest in East Anglia and the sixth busiest out of 235 across the country, according to statistics released by the charity.

Southend lifeboats were launched 110 times last year, helping to bring ashore 88 people who were in difficulty in the Thames.

Den Freeman, spokesman for the Southend RNLI, said: “The Southend station is the busiest station in the eastern division, despite the fact figures are actually down for last year, mainly due to the bad weather in the summer.

“There wasn’t so many pleasure boats out on the water as there would be in a good summer.”

Across the region, one of the most significant increases in call-outs has been to people being brought ashore after becoming ill or injured.

There were 47 such incidents in 2007 and 75 in 2008. Like 2007, incidents involving sail or pleasure continue to account for a third of all launches.

Andrew Ashton, the RNLI divisional inspector, said: “Last year’s rescue figures show East Anglia is an extremely active region for the RNLI.

“While some of the traditionally busy stations have carried out slightly fewer launches last year, other stations have seen their numbers go up.

“Some of these variations could be due to poor weather during the summer. But 2008 was still one of the busiest years in recent times and this region now benefits from the RNLI’s lifeguard service, where standards of training and equipment, as with the lifeboats, are world-renowned.”

The charity is holding a Save Our Soup fundraising day across the region today. Fundraising packs can be obtained by calling 0845 1214999.