New £200k lifeboat launched in Gloucestershire

The new £200,000 lifeboat was funded by a grant from the UK Department of Transport

A new £200,000 lifeboat, designed by its crew, has been launched in Gloucestershire.

The cost of the Severn Area Rescue Association (Sara) craft has been met by a grant from the UK Department of Transport.

"It's the first of its kind to be awarded to a lifeboat association," a Sara spokesman said.

The new boat has been named after Jim Hewitt, one of Sara's founders, in a commissioning ceremony in Beachley.

For more than 40 years, the registered charity has been providing a 24/7 search-and-rescue service in the Severn Estuary with no government funding.

But with its largest vessel the "Joe Harris" needing to be replaced, the charity decided to apply for a government grant.

"We were looking to replace our vessel that's been in service for 17 years," said Haydn Lyall, from the association.

"Then this grant came up and we applied for it and got the full amount. It's saved us about four years of fundraising."

Designed by the crew, the new 8m (26ft) long craft has been custom-built to meet the conditions on the Severn Estuary.

At a commissioning ceremony in Beachley, the new boat was launched by the Rt Hon Mark Harper MP.