St Abbs RNLI lifeboat to be withdrawn despite campaign

A high-profile campaign against the removal of St Abbs lifeboat attracted support from across the country

The RNLI will withdraw its lifeboat from St Abbs next week, despite receiving a 13,000-signature petition opposing the move.

The charity's operations director said the closure of the lifeboat station would go ahead as planned.

George Rawlinson added that a second lifeboat would be stationed at nearby Eyemouth in a move which "meets the requirements for the area".

Campaigners delivered a petition to the RNLI in Poole, Dorset, on Tuesday.

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Mr Rawlinson admitted that the decision to remove the lifeboat on 8 September was "at odds with the local community".

He said: "We have done a lot of detailed analysis of the resources and the needs and requirements around that part of the coast and we believe that we can meet the operational requirements of St Abbs by having an additional lifeboat at Eyemouth, just two miles down the coast.

"Our plan at the moment is to go ahead and withdraw the lifeboat next week from St Abbs."

The lifeboat station at St Abbs is expected to close on 8 September, when the RNLI removes the lifeboat.

The Scottish Sub Aqua Club, the British Sub Aqua Club and doctors at a local medical practice have voiced their opposition to the plan.

The chief executive of the National Trust for Scotland has also written to the RNLI to outline his concerns about the decision.

Mr Rawlinson said: "The key point is that Eyemouth is in very close proximity to St Abbs really and that's where we believe the response can come from.

"We think having two lifeboats at Eyemouth is a very flexible and appropriate combination for that particular area.

"It's true to say that within that area we don't know exactly where the next rescue will come from but by having that flexibility of two lifeboats at one location, we believe that meets the requirement for the area."

He suggested that a lifeboat independent of the RNLI could operate from St Abbs.

"From time to time we do make changes around the coast and there's a history of local organisations deciding to operate an independent lifeboat, as we call them, if the RNLI doesn't have a presence," he said.

"So from time to time this possibility is thought about and communities have done this in the past."

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