Beach rescue boat named in memory of murdered MP

Chalkwell Lifeguards Club said it received permission from Sir David Amess' family to name the boat in his memory

A lifeguard club has unveiled a new rescue boat named in memory of a murdered local MP.

The "Sir David Amess MP" patrol boat will be officially launched by Chalkwell Lifeguards Club in Southend-on-Sea at a ceremony later this month.

Sir David was a long-serving Conservative MP for the Southend West constituency when he was fatally stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea by an IS fanatic in October 2021.

The club described the MP, who had previously been MP for Basildon, as "much loved and missed".

Sir David served as an Essex MP from 1983 to 2021

A spokesperson said the new rescue boat, which was funded by a £1,300 donation from Leigh-on-Sea Round Table, would "keep residents and visitors to Southend city safe all year round".

The catamaran was designed to allow the "easy recovery of a casualty" from the water into the front of the boat, enabling a "speedy return" to shore.

It is equipped with a defibrillator machine, bleed control kit and emergency first response bag.

A statue of Sir David was unveiled last year close to the headquarters of Chalkwell Lifeguards Club

Peggy Deacon, 95, a former volunteer for Sir David, said: "It's wonderful that we now have a Sir David Amess MP Lifeguard Rescue Boat to save lives in Southend as well as a Sir David Amess MP Pier train."