Volunteers at Weymouth Lifeboat Station are celebrating 200 years of the RNLI saving lives at sea.

A Service of Thanksgiving to mark 200 years of the RNLI will take place at Westminster Abbey in London today.

 It will be attended by representatives from RNLI lifesaving communities around the UK and Ireland, including Andy Sargent, Teresa Drage and Alice Higgins from the Weymouth Lifeboat Station.

Andy Sargent coxswain of the Weymouth lifeboat station said: "I'm proud to be part of that story like many generations before us, and with my son Karl serving as a member of the volunteer lifeboat crew, and youngest son Mark having been a lifeguard for six years I'm certain they and others will continue that tradition.

"Water safety on vessels and for those participating in recreational water sports has improved greatly, but the unpredictable nature of the sea still catches the unwary. We are proud to continue the tradition of saving lives here in Weymouth."

Dorset Echo: Andy Sargent, Karl Sargent (right) and Mark Sargent (left)Andy Sargent, Karl Sargent (right) and Mark Sargent (left) (Image: Weymouth Lifeboat)

During 2023 the Weymouth volunteer crews attended 92 calls for assistance, helping 114 people, and recorded one+ life being saved.

The calls for assistance ranged from swimmers, paddle boarders and windsurfers to people stranded at the base of a cliff path close to shore and from stricken commercial vessels and boats miles offshore.

Weymouth RNLI lifeboat station was founded in 1869 and in that time its crews have launched the lifeboats 3,692 times, saving at least 958 lives.

Today, Weymouth operates two lifeboats; a Severn class All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) named Ernest and Mabel and an Atlantic 85 Inshore Lifeboat (ILB) the Jack & Phyl Cleare.

The two different crafts allow volunteers to select the best resource and crew to address the specific need and target the best possible outcome.

Weymouth Lifeboat Station was established by the RNLI in 1869 to give assistance to vessels in distress on the north and east sides of Weymouth Bay.

RNLI Chief Executive, Mark Dowie, said: "For a charity to have survived 200 years based on the time and commitment of volunteers, and the sheer generosity of the public donating to fund it, is truly remarkable.

"It is through the courage and dedication of its incredible people that the RNLI has survived the tests of time, including tragic losses, funding challenges, two World Wars and, more recently, a global pandemic."