Last day for Brixham coastguard station

The Brixham coastguard station which has been in operation since 1984 will be sold

The coastguard station at Brixham in Devon has closed as part of a shake-up of rescue services.

The station has co-ordinated search and rescue services between Exmouth and Dodman Point, Cornwall, since 1984.

The station, along with Solent in Hampshire and Portland in Dorset, is being replaced by a national rescue centre in Segensworth, Hampshire.

Twenty six staff and managers have lost their jobs in Brixham and the building will be sold.

Coastguards say rescue services will be unaffected by the changes

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is closing a total of five coastguard stations.

The new national rescue centre will be run alongside nine other 24-hour centres around the UK.

The changes have been criticised by some workers, users and politicians but the MCA said people "won't notice any difference to the way search and rescue missions are responded to".

Peter Davies, who was manager at Brixham coastguard station and has taken up a new role at Segensworth, said: "This new state-of-the-art network will ensure that we are better prepared and will improve how we manage the workload.

"I'd also like to thank the staff at Brixham coastguard, who have served the community with the utmost professionalism over many years.

"I am pleased that some are staying with the coastguard and have relocated to roles elsewhere."