RNLI tests lifeboat launching vehicle at Wells-next-the-Sea

Archive footage shows the Royal National Lifeboat Institute (RNLI) testing a new launching tractor for shallow-water stations.

Filmed at Wells-next-the-Sea, Norfolk, in 1958, the footage shows the lifeboat being driven to the edge of the water by a vehicle with caterpillar tracks.

Before they used machines, horses were used to launch lifeboats and Wells was the last site to use one in 1936.

A sculpture of a horse stands in the town's harbour as a tribute to all the animals who served the RNLI.

On Tuesday, the RNLI celebrated its 200th anniversary with a service at Westminster Abbey in London.

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