AS Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) research has revealed that more fishermen die in January than in any other month of the year, the life-saving charity has launched a hard-hitting campaign encouraging fishermen to make sure their boats keep them safe at sea.

The campaign features five short films which provide practical advice and easy-to-follow animations warning of dangers at sea.

The films show how to keep a fishing boat stable and highlight factors that lead to dangerous instability, with RNLI research showing that the majority of deaths in the commercial fishing industry occur when vessels lose stability.

RNLI figures show that 59 per cent of commercial fishing fatalities between 2010 and 2013 were due to a loss of stability leading to capsize, leaking or swamping – with 30 per cent of deaths occurring in the month of January, when seas can be rough and water temperatures are at their lowest.

The campaign is targeted at fishermen who work on vessels under 15m in length, as the majority of fishing-related fatal incidents (73 per cent) occurred on fishing boats in this category.

The safety films can be viewed at RNLI.org/stability