Hunstanton: Could you join Norfolk town's lifeboat crew?

Hunstanton RNLI crew operate a lifeboat and a hovercraft from their base on Sea Lane.

The men and women who pull on their yellow boots and go out to sea whenever they are needed are supported by volunteers who do everything from keeping the station tidy to raising funds and other tasks.   

Volunteers play a vital role at Hunstanton lifeboat station (Image: Chris Bishop)

Hunstanton RNLI chairman Charles le Strange Meakin said: "The whole thing depends on volunteers, people turning out on a Sunday morning."

They include Clare Kyle, who drives the powerful tractor used to tow the lifeboat down the beach to launch it.

"It's just something I've always wanted to do," she said. "I've followed the RNLI over the years."

Volunteers at work cleaning the lifeboat station at Hunstanton (Image: Chris Bishop)

Volunteers also staff the station's fundraising shop and show visitors around the site, while a water safety team warn visitors to nearby Brancaster Beach of the dangers of getting cut off by the tide.

Jo Jutsum, one of the station's deputy launch authorities (DLA), said: "We want people and bodies. There's a role for everyone, it doesn't matter if they have no water experience. 

"For crew we need people from the local area, aged between 18 and 55. We'll give them world-class training."

Bopth the station and its vessels are cleaned by volunteers every Sunday (Image: Chris Bishop)

She added crew members needed to be on call and be able to reach the station within 10 minutes of the alarm being raised.

Around a quarter of the 40 or so volunteers at Hunstanton are women.

As DLA, Mrs Jutsum takes the initial call from the coastguard, before deciding whether to launch and whether the lifeboat or hovercraft should be despatched.

Hunstanton lifeboat station needs more volunteers (Image: Chris Bishop)

With three of the station's DLAs nearing retirement, it needs to recruit replacements.

As well as people, the RNLI also needs donations. It receives no state aid and depends on the public to fund its work.

On Sunday, artist Helena Anderson presented the station with a cheque for £650 from the proceeds of Dancing Through Life, a biography of her late mother Peggy Spencer, who passed away at the age of 95 in 2016.

Helena Anderson (front, second left) presents a cheque for £650 to Leesa Espley (left) at Hunstanton lifeboat station (Image: Chris Bishop)

She said her mother, who was known to millions as one of the judges on the BBC show Come Dancing, which ran from 1949 until 1998, was a regular visitor to the station.

For more information about volunteering, go to visit rnli.org/support-us/volunteer.