New figures show the charity's Inshore lifeboats have saved 30,778* lives across 60 years, including those by the harwich RNLI which also covers the Felixstowe peninsula coast and rivers.

Inshore lifeboats can operate in shallower water, near cliffs and rocks meaning crews can get as close as possible to those in trouble.

Harwich has had their B-Class Lifeboat, Tierney, Harvey and Sonny Reid saving lives at sea since 2002 when it arrived at the station.

It has gone on to launch 2,543 times, save 282 lives and aid 1,837 people making Harwich one of the busiest lifeboat stations in the UK.

Prior to the current B-Class lifeboat, Harwich was one of the first lifeboat stations to have an inshore lifeboat with a D-Class boat being stationed there from 1965

Peter Bull (Picture: RNLI)

Peter Bull, Volunteer Lifeboat Operations Manager at Harwich, said: "Introduced in 1963, the inshore lifeboat continues to be an invaluable asset in the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's (RNLI) fleet

"The inshore lifeboat has enabled the charity's volunteer crews to carry out their lifesaving work closer to shore, in areas inaccessible to other lifeboats in the fleet. Designed to be quick and manoeuvrable,

:Our B-Class, Atlantic 85 Lifeboat has enabled our volunteer crew to reach areas close to shore to rescue people in trouble. These fast and highly manoeuvrable lifesaving craft answered the need for a quicker and more agile response to rescues in areas of water that were more challenging to the larger and slower all-weather lifeboats.

"The Tierney, Harvey and Sonny Reid is a part of our community and suit the demands of the rescues we attend making, with its unique features and capabilities has made a huge difference to the efficiency and effectiveness of our 24/7 search and rescue service. And has aided many people in difficult situations, whether that's people being cut off by the tide, boats in trouble or water users in need of our help."

The RNLI builds and maintains most of its inshore lifeboats in house at their Inshore Lifeboat Centre in Cowes on the Isle of Wight. This allows the charity to have greater control over costs and quality ensuring they produce the best lifesaving asset for their crews and spend their supporters' donations in the most efficient and effective way.

• *Statistics taken from 1963 – 2 May 2023. Includes lifesaving statistics from our Atlantic 85, D class and E class lifeboats, launches of our daughter boats from the RNLI's all-weather lifeboats and models of inshore lifeboats that are no longer part of the RNLI fleet.