SWANAGE’S new £1.5m Shannon Class all-weather RNLI lifeboat has had its first ‘shout’.

The water jet-propelled craft, the George Thomas Lacy, was called out to help in the search of a missing person just 48 hours after officially coming into service. The person was later found safe.

Swanage Pier was packed full of people for the arrival of the new vessel earlier this month – and the station’s volunteers completed two days of tough assessments before it was declared operational.

RNLI divisional operations manager Nigel Jones said: “It gives me great pleasure that the lifeboat George Thomas Lacy officially became Swanage RNLI’s lifeboat and went on service.

“We are tremendously impressed with the way all the volunteers at Swanage RNLI have committed so much time and effort to training over the past few weeks, and thank them

for their dedication.”

The same day the vessel came into service was also the same day three long-standing members of the Swanage lifeboat crew decided to step down. Swanage’s new £3.5 million lifeboat station, should be completed later this year.