RNLI Wells lifeboat: Crowds watch as vessel retires after 33 years

A special event was held to honour the Doris M Mann of Ampthill before her retirement

More than 500 people gathered to catch a final glimpse of a town's lifeboat before its retirement after 33 years.

The "Doris M Mann of Ampthill" at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, has saved 700 lives in that time.

Wells Lifeboat chairman Peter Rainsford said: "Naturally, we are very sad to say farewell to Doris. She served us proudly and will be greatly missed."

A new all-weather lifeboat called the "Duke of Edinburgh" has replaced the vessel.

Crews have had several months of intensive training since state-of-the-art Shannon class craft arrived in October - named after the late Prince Philip, who lived at the nearby royal estate of Sandringham.

Coxswain Nicky King and the crew gather to say goodbye to their boat

Among the people who attended Sunday's quayside "goodbye and thank you, Doris" event was Ed West from Oxford, who was saved by the lifeboat's crew 20 years ago.

"We were sailing off Blakeney Point and the boat started to sink. A local boat luckily saw us in trouble and radioed the coastguard," he said.

"We were picked up. A big orange boat coming towards us. I'll never forget that sight."

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Coxswain Nicky King said: "We're taking her from here to Lowestoft. She's going to be used to do a bit of training for a couple of weeks, then I think she's going to be up for sale.

"Where she's going, I honestly don't know.

"I like to think she'll go somewhere else and carry on the work she's been doing."