A Government minister has attempted to calm fears over the gap in coastguard helicopter coverage in Dorset following the loss of the Portland aircraft.

Minister of State for Transport Legislation and Maritime John Hayes has tried to explain the official position in a letter to South Dorset MP Richard Drax.

Mr Drax, who said he was 'disappointed but not surprised' by the response, had raised concerns with the Department for Transport over an incident off Portland at the beginning of the month in which sick diver Marcus Blatchford was reportedly left waiting 90 minutes for a rescue helicopter.

It happened less than 24 hours after the controversial withdrawal of the Portland-based coastguard helicopter.

Dorset is now covered solely by rescue helicopters from bases out of county, with the nearest being around 60 miles away at Lee-on-Solent in Hampshire.

A helicopter from St Athan, South Wales, ended up being sent to airlift Mr Blatchford, who was suffering from the bends.

Mr Drax wrote to the minister urging a rethink on the Portland helicopter decision, warning of a 'huge gap' in search and rescue coverage along the Dorset coast.

Dorset Echo:

Final day of Coastguard helicopter at Portland Picture: FINNBARR WEBSTER

Responding, Mr Hayes said he had seen the incident log from the diver rescue which showed that a helicopter was on scene an hour and eight minutes after the initial call to the coastguard.

However a request for helicopter support was not made until 15 minutes after the initial call, and the helicopter from St Athan was diverted from its training schedule 11 minutes after that. It then took 42 minutes to get to Portland.

Mr Hayes says in his letter: "I do understand how this might appear to be an excessive amount of time compared with what the Portland aircraft could have achieved. But it is worth pointing out that the Portland aircraft would have taken anything up to 15 minutes to take off, and could only have reached the casualty more quickly had it been at Portland at the time of the request. It could have been anywhere in its operating area."

Mr Hayes says the south coast "continues to be very well severed by SAR helicopters", and makes mention of a new base in Lydd, Kent.

Mr Drax said: “Obviously, I am disappointed, though unsurprised by this response.

"As a result of the loss of the Portland helicopter, there will continue to be a capability gap at the centre of the busiest SAR area in the country and, as I’ve said many times before, no matter how new and fast a helicopter is, it cannot be in two places at once."

He added: "The diving incident, which occasioned the letter to the minister, was, I fear, a harbinger of things to come, although I sincerely hope not."