Final lifeboat launch from Walton pier after 100 years

A final lifeboat launch from a town's pier after more than 100 years was a "poignant moment," a crew member said.

An all-weather Tamar-class craft has been moved from the seafront at Walton-on-the-Naze in Essex to Titchmarsh Marina about 1.5 miles (2.5km) away.

A group, protesting against the move, warned it would take longer for the lifeboat to respond to emergencies.

The RNLI said it was still able to provide an "effective life-saving response" in the area.

Walton and Frinton's lifeboat left for its new home at about 18:45 BST on Monday evening after a short delay while it responded to a yacht in difficulty.

Senior crew member Dale Steggles told BBC Essex: "It was a poignant moment for the station. The community has been very supportive and it's been a challenging time for us to maintain the current service."

The all-weather lifeboat left its seafront home for a new base at a nearby marina

The move followed the retirement of the last person on station with launch authority and "infrastructure issues" with Walton pier, the RNLI said.

A number of volunteer lifeboat crew members said they planned to retire after concerns were raised about planned changes to the service.

These included swapping the station's all-weather boat for a smaller D-class inflatable vessel in autumn 2024.

The present lifeboat is 16m (52ft) long and can go out in any weather. Its replacement would be a five-metre (16ft) inflatable craft.

A Facebook campaign page said the seafront base was "easily the most effective location for a lifesaving asset on this part of the coast and has proven across many generations".

An RNLI spokesperson said: "The RNLI can maintain an effective life-saving response with the lifeboat launching from Titchmarsh. The Tendring coastline has a high-level service provided by Harwich and Clacton-on-Sea, as well as the Tamar-class lifeboat."

RNLI head of region Ross Barraclough added: "The reason that we are making the change is driven by the infrastructure issues with Walton Pier, which facilitated the need for a life-saving effect review.

"Ultimately, the modelling shows that having a D-Class lifeboat at Walton and Frinton and an all-weather lifeboat at Clacton, improves the life-saving effect for the whole stretch of coast."