Lifeboat volunteers celebrate new boat

LIFEBOAT volunteers in Hemsby will be able to carry out rescues even more rapidly than before after years of fund-raising allowed them to spend �30,000 on buying a new boat.

LIFEBOAT volunteers in Hemsby will be able to carry out rescues even more rapidly than before after years of fund-raising allowed them to spend �30,000 on buying a new boat.

The Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service proudly showed off its new, modern boat on Saturday and said farewell to its old vessel, which has been sold to a training company.

Coxswain Adam Rossiter said the new boat, which will be officially named later this summer, was smaller and faster than its predecessor, meaning volunteers will now been able to shave vital seconds and minutes off their response times.

The service, which is independent from the RNLI and also serves the Broads, has a total of 18 volunteers who are called out on about 45 rescue missions a year.

The need to raise funds to buy new boats every five to eight years and other vital equipment never stops, and Mr Rossiter heaped praise on local communities for their donations.

'The public has been really generous and we have been saving for a few years. They have been fantastic locally and we try to get as much funding as possible. It never stops,' he said.

The old boat was bought for an undisclosed sum by Dave Lennox, of Aspen Sea Training, and will be stationed in Lowestoft.

Mr Lennox is also manager of the Asda supermarket, in Lowestoft, and the store also agreed to make a �750 donation to the Hemsby lifeboat.

Mr Lennox said: 'This was the right thing to do as it struck a chord in my heart.'

People wanting to support the service can send cheques, made payable to Hemsby Inshore Rescue Service, to Maurice Watts at 1 Solebay Cottage, Pit Road, NR29 4LG.