A team of volunteer life savers have set about spreading a message of safety they are determined to make stick.

Hembsy Lifeboat, an independent charity dedicated to helping those in distress on the water, has launched its own water safety campaign, which it is spreading through Norfolk.

The team’s volunteers have had sets of stickers made up bearing a simple, but effective, message and have now set about distributing them around boat yards and marinas across the county.

The stickers carry two vital things - details on how to contact the coastguard and a reminder to always wear a life jacket when out on the water.

Dan Hurd, coxswain of Hemsby Lifeboat, said: “We had the idea after noticing there were often lags in getting help out to people in danger because they don’t know how to immediately get hold of the coastguard.

“It’s also the simplest of things, but the risk of disaster is so much greater without life jackets, so we wanted to do something to remind people of this.”

The crew have been delivering stickers to boat yards across the Broads, to be stuck on instruction manuals given to people hiring boats.

Mr Hurd added: “Our goal is to have these stickers on display at every marina in Norfolk to spread this potentially life-saving message.”

Dave Ratcliffe, of Winterton Coastguard station, added: “Anything that raises water safety awareness is a good thing and this message is simple and effective. We do lots of our work on the Broads, and a significant amount of our calls are through hire firms, so spreading the message of how to contact us directly is a good thing.”

Chris Clarke, marina manager of Richardson’s in Stalham - where the campaign was launched - said: “Safety is our highest priority so we were delighted to support this campaign. We want people to have a good time when they hire a boat from us, but we obviously also want them back in one piece.”

Mr Hurd and his crew have also distributed stickers to Herbert Woods in Potter Heigham - among other marinas.

The stickers have been designed and produced by Great Yarmouth Printing Services, which offered the service free of charge. Secretary Marilyn Tapia said the company was more than happy to support the crew.