Gorleston lifeboat crew 'overjoyed' to receive new rescue vessel

Yarmouth & Gorleston's new £2.5m lifeboat was paid for by a legacy left to the RNLI

Crowds gathered to welcome a new multimillion-pound lifeboat to their coastal town.

The RNLI spent more than £2.5m on a new Shannon class lifeboat for Great Yarmouth and Gorleston, Norfolk.

Lifeboat Operations Manager Lindsey Wigmore described the new boat as "faster and far more manouverable" than the previous Trent class vessel.

"Everyone at the station crew is extremely overjoyed about it coming up here," he told the BBC.

The new boat is named after the people who paid for it with a legacy in their wills to the RNLI.

"The George and Frances Phelon is the first legacy boat for the RNLI," said Mr Wigmore.

"So anyone that's left a legacy have got their names written on the port and starboard side."

"It's an honour to have that here at Yarmouth."

The new boat manages better in shallow waters, such as the sandbanks off the Norfolk coast

The Shannon vessel replaces Great Yarmouth & Gorleston Station's previous Trent class lifeboat, which had been in service since 1996.

Mr Wigmore said because the Shannon is fitted with waterjets instead of traditional propellers, it can operate in much shallower waters.

"This is excellent for where we are on this coast, because we're surrounded by sandbanks - so she's a much more user-friendly boat for this area," he said.

Deputy Coxswain Jason Edmunds was among those helping to escort the George and Frances Phelon safely to shore.

"It's a great honour to escort a new boat in," he said.

"It's obviously a major event to us, second only to the naming ceremony next week," he added.

Coxswain Jason Edmund said it was "an honour" to escort the new boat, right, into harbour

Mr Wigmore said it would be "sad" to say goodbye to their trusty Trent boat, which would stay while crews trained on the new one.

"After 27 years, it will be a big shock and we'll see some tears in some of the lad's eyes I expect," he said.

But he said the new technology was needed now more than ever.

"Last year was our busiest year ever so it's good to keep the assets going," he said.