RNLI lifeguards on their first patrol of the summer rescued a paddleboarder who was drifting onto a reef at Gyllyngvase beach on Saturday.

Lifeguard Hugo Newington-Smith was patrolling the water’s edge when he noticed a stand-up paddleboarder who had got into difficulty in high winds, and alerted fellow team member Matthew Stone.

Matthew responded quickly and reached the casualty with his rescue board before helping the learner paddleboarder safely back to shore.

That same day lifeguard Georgia Maughn at Perranporth beach rescued a bodyboarder who had got caught out by rip currents, pulling him onto her rescue board and paddling him to safety.

And lifeguards Kian Harris and Matt Trewhella prevented two people from getting cut of by the tide at Porthtowan.

On Sunday, lifeguard Tom Stewart-Leech used his rescue board to rescue a group of five people who were caught out while coasteering, returning them back to the cliff path, and at Holywell Bay Lewis Rosewell rescued a novice surfer after he was caught in a large rip current and began drifting out to sea.

Dickon Berriman, RNLI lifeguard manager, said: "We’d urge beachgoers to head to an RNLI lifeguarded beach and to swim in the supervised area between the red and yellow flags. If you are trying out watersports for the first time we recommend seeking advice from the lifeguards on the wind and sea conditions before entering the water.

"If you do find yourself in trouble in the water please raise your hand and call for help. If you see someone else in trouble, tell a lifeguard, or if you can’t see a lifeguard, call 999 and ask for the coastguard.

"It is very important that you don’t try and attempt the rescue yourself – the situation could easily turn and you could find yourself in difficulty too. RNLI lifeguards are all highly trained and will come to your assistance."