Humber lifeboat station leaves Spurn Point after 213 years of rescues

Crews have moved from Spurn Point to maintain the best response possible

After being based at Spurn Point for more than 200 years the RNLI's Humber lifeboat station has moved from Spurn Point to Grimsby.

The move followed an inspection in February that found structural issues with the launch jetty at Spurn Point.

The Grimsby site is an established RNLI base, which was already being used when weather conditions at Spurn were poor.

People visiting the coast who needed help would "still get an excellent response", the charity said.

The RNLI said it was essential to provide safe access for crews

The Humber crew is the only one in the country that is staffed full-time. The lifeboatmen and their families even lived in cottages on the peninsula until 2012.

The lifeboat station was founded in 1810 and the paid crew is one of the busiest of the RNLI's all-weather lifeboats, dealing with more than 50 incidents a year.

A spokesperson for Humber RNLI said it was "a difficult time for crews" who were leaving "a place pivotal to the 200-year history of the station".

However, they said the jetty's structural issues made it "essential to operate from elsewhere".

"Humber RNLI will continue providing a vital lifesaving search-and-rescue service from Grimsby," the spokesperson added.

Ageing infrastructure was a problem at Spurn Point, according to the RNLI

Spurn Point is a narrow sand spit and nature reserve which is only 164ft (50m) wide at some points. It reaches into the North Sea and forms the north bank of the mouth of the Humber estuary.

Jamie King, area lifesaving manager for the RNLI, said: "We have a long history with Spurn Point, where we have launched to many hundreds of rescues in the last 213 years."

He added: "Grimsby has been a satellite site for the Humber lifeboat for many years, where we could operate when weather conditions at Spurn Point weren't favourable."

In an statement the RNLI said it was "no longer commercially viable - or the best use of public donations - or safe, for the RNLI to operate from this remote location".

"Plans are being developed to create a permanent lifesaving facility at Grimsby, which is to include the ability to help develop crews from around the UK," they added.