An assessment of the reputation of the top ten charities in England and Wales, and those in 32 other countries, has seen the Royal National Lifeboat Institute receive the highest score for the second year running.

Carried out by worldwide reputation consultants the Reputation Institute, the report is a supplement to the "Global Reputation Pulse" report, and revealed that governance, citizenship and services were the three key drivers for reputation within the voluntary sector.

With a global average score for corporate reputation, taken from 2,000 organisations (charity and non charity), of 64.2 out of 100, the RNLI scored over 30 points more with a score of 94.77. The Royal British Legion came second in the UK's results, followed by the RNIB.

Paul Boissier, chief executive of the RNLI said: "We're delighted to have achieved such an excellent ranking for the second year running. This result reflects the commitment and dedication of all our people, volunteers and staff, who work so hard to prtect our reputation and our standing with the public.

"We are fortunate in having a large network of dedicated people working at a local level who feel very involved with the RNLI and really contribute to ensure the charity and its volunteer lifeboat crews and lifeguards can continue to save lives at sea."