´óÏó´«Ã½

In March 2024, the RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary of saving lives and rescuing boats in distress around the UK’s coastline. Matt Baker and Sammi Kinghorn are in Somerset to meet the incredible volunteer members of Minehead’s RNLI station, who juggle busy lives with life-saving call-outs.

Matt meets fifth-generation lifeboat volunteer Andrew Escott to hear the history of Minehead’s station, including when his great-great-uncle manned a dangerous rescue in 1941. He also joins other RNLI volunteers for a tractor and boat manoeuvre training exercise, but will he be able to direct the boat to the launch point against the clock?

Sammi meets local RNLI volunteer and farmer Chris Webber to find out about the challenges of juggling call-outs and life on the farm, before they head to the station to get kitted out for an RNLI rescue.

In the Cotswolds, Adam is finding out how the UK’s first livestock biobank will help preserve the nation’s rare breeds.

And Joe Crowley finds out about internal drainage boards, a critical public service whose work protects some two million acres of low-lying areas like the Broads, Lincolnshire, Somerset, Yorkshire and the Fens from flooding. After working around the clock to deal with recent storms, they’re now facing a different kind of pressure – rising energy bills.