TIMES are changing rapidly for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, this year's official charity at Skandia Life Cowes Week.

When most people think of the RNLI they imagine a lifeboat speeding out of the harbour, in all weathers, going to the aid of someone in distress at sea.

However these days the organisation, with a proud record for saving lives, is not only continuing with its traditional role around the nation's coastline but is looking to extend its work on Britain's beaches and inland waters.

From next year volunteer crews will also be protecting people using the Thames in the heart of London.

The RNLI, which is using Skandia Life Cowes Week not only to raise funds but to press home its message of safety on the water, can trace its roots back to the 19th century.

Back in 1824 the RNLI evolved into a lifeboat service because when Sir William Hillary established the institution boats were the only means of rescue and the sea the place where most lives were lost.

A spokesman for the RNLI said: "In the new millennium we took a look at other areas where people were dying and decided to trial new ways of saving lives."

As a result RNLI Beach Rescue Units were formed last May in Cornwall and Dorset and up to now the volunteers have responded to 1,744 incidents and assisted 1,737 people.

Lifeboat stations on inland water have been set up in Northern Ireland and Suffolk and, by the beginning of next year, three bases will also be in operation along the Thames.