PUTTING your life at risk to save others is one of the most heroic acts a person can do.

And Burnham-on-Sea Coastguard's 11 volunteers do just that all year round.

The dedicated team, which is based on Burnham-on-Sea Esplanade, has had a busy year as they have been called out 73 times to a variety of incidents including horse rescues, searches for missing people and rescuing people stuck in the mud.

The Coastguard, which has been operational in Burnham since 1972, is a Government run organisation and has a 4x4 and trailer equipped to respond to search, mud, water and cliff rescues.

The team of volunteers works closely with other rescue services including Burnham RNLI and BARB Search and Rescue and is available 24 hours a day to assist members of the public who need help.

Dave Welland, station officer, has the tough task of co-ordinating rescues across the coast from Burnham to Weston-super-Mare and said the Coastguard would not be able to function without the hard work of its volunteers.

He said: "The callouts we have had this year have been more substantial compared to last year.

"We have not been dealing with as many people going out and messing about on the beach we have been actually dealing with proper rescues.

"We had a yacht wash up on a beach this year, a missing man from Highbridge and we had a chap turn up on Stert Island.

"We do a huge amount of training and we have actually been putting it to use this year, more so than we have in a long time.

"In past years we have had a lot of people call us after getting into difficulty by not paying attention to signs but this year we have had a lot more genuine call outs."

Dave said the Coastguard's Facebook page has amassed 10,000 followers, the largest following of any Coastguard team in the country, and social media has been a useful tool to help them spread messages to people about being safe along the coast.

The page is run by members of the team who say the Coastguard always tries to put forward a positive message on their social media account as they find it resonates more with the public.

Morris said: "We get thousands of shares on our Facebook posts which allows to reach a lot of people and get our message out.

"We get amazing comments on our Facebook page which is one of the great things about doing it as we wouldn't get the feedback we get."

Dave said the Coastguard's team of volunteers works hard all year round to rescue people along the coast but they are 'extremely grateful' for the support they receive from the public.

"We try to educate people about the different roles of rescue services in the town as not everyone knows how it works.

"We are one of the four emergency services. We do patrols in the summer so people know that we are there and that they can chat with us.

"We really appreciate all the support we have had from family and friends who have to put up with us disappearing and from the members of the public who continue to be vigilant and call us out.

"We would sooner people did call us rather than leave it for ten or twelve hours and it become a much bigger job."

The team said their message for people in 2020 would be to 'stay safe' and be aware of the dangers on the coast.

Ian Jefferies, deputy station officer at Burnham Coastguard said: "I think it is go to the coast, enjoy the coast it is an amazing place but be aware of tides, cliff faces, just be aware of the dangers that are around.

"It is a safe place if you make yourself aware of the dangers.

"If you have an emergency while using the beach or coastal areas or see anyone in difficulty, dial 999 immediately and ask for the Coastguard."