Free snacks for first class train pasengers boost RNLI

East Midlands Railway (EMR) has teamed up with its crisp supplier to support a life-saving water safety campaign – Float to Live.

This collaborative effort highlights the importance of water safety awareness among the public and comes in a week warnings have been issued about strong currents and cold water temperatures.

Until August, every time an EMR First Class customer opens a complimentary bag of Burts' Lightly Sea Salted, Sea Salt & Malt Vinegar, or Prawn Cocktail flavour crisps, a small donation will be made to the RNLI.

Philippa Cresswell, Customer Service Director at East Midlands Railway, said: "We are proud to support this important campaign and help raise funds for the RNLI.

"We serve a number of busy seaside resorts and hope our customers not only enjoy the crisps but also take in the key advice of the 'Float to Live' campaign."

Claire Wade, Head of Sales at Burts, said: “We are delighted to see East Midlands Railway supporting our Royal National Lifeboat Institution pack takeover campaign.

"We’d like to thank EMR for helping us spread the RNLI’s key message ‘Float to Live’ among their customers, as it could be lifesaving advice and is such an important part of this campaign. By including RNLI heroes on our packs, we hope it will encourage customers to improve their knowledge of water safety.”

Anna Jones, RNLI Partnerships Manager at the RNLI, added: “Working with Burts on its pack takeover campaign has been a fantastic opportunity to get our key message out there, as well as raise awareness for the crucial work we do here at the RNLI.

"We would like to thank East Midlands Railway and its customers for their support in this campaign, as it is incredibly important that everyone knows the five key steps to our ‘Float to Live’ advice – it could save someone’s life.”

Float to Live

If you found yourself struggling in the water unexpectedly, your instinct would tell you to swim hard. But cold water shock could make you gasp uncontrollably. Then you could breathe in water and drown. Instead, you should Float to Live.

The best way to float is to tilt your head back with your ears submerged. Try to relax and breathe normally. You can gently move your hands to help you stay afloat if you need to. Spread your arms and legs out to improve stability – and it's OK if your legs sink, we all float differently. Once your breathing is under control, call for help or swim to safety.