I HAVE to say that I take issue with the statement by the assistant director of aviation for the MCA.

There have always been two helicopters at most Coastguard bases, including Lee-on-Solent and Portland.

Each base use predetermined call signs when in service, hence Portland’s ‘106’. The fact that Portland, along with others recently, has now closed, means that there are fewer available to cover this area. Also, the existing helicopters can fly at the maximum speed that can be achieved by any this type of aircraft.

The comments made cover up a very bad decision to close Portland. Lydd, in Kent, is at the extreme east of the UK, whilst Newquay is in North Cornwall, leaving just one base between them, Lee on Solent. Yes, it has two helicopters, as I have mentioned before, but only one is operational at any one time.

Once deployed, it has no ability to attend elsewhere, something that the Portland base was important for. Often ‘106’ attended the areas that were the remit of Lee on Solent and of course, all area’s North, South, East and West of Portland. Portland’s helicopter attended rescues as far away as South Wales, Cornwall, Devon, Somerset, Avon, Wiltshire and others, as well as Dorset. To add to the disappearing Search and Rescue services, military SARs, such as Culdrose have also been withdrawn from public service.

Coastguard helicopters are the only vehicles that have winches aboard to hoist casualties aboard. Not only essential at sea, but also on land in inaccessible areas and during flooding.

I acknowledge the Air Ambulance and its remarkable service to the community, however, it cannot provide the same service as the Coastguard, one example I have just given.

Those volunteers within the other rescue services have also had an essential useful tool removed, making some rescues impossible. To add to all of this, we now face standing on our own in the observance of our coastline with ‘Brexit’. The monitoring of our borders is part of the remit of our Coastguard and obviously a government responsibility. Reducing this ability is very short-sighted. Should it be the duty of the realm to provide the observation and safety of our coastline, or should it be left to private enterprise to decide our fate with volunteers left to work with fewer professional tools at their disposal.

Roger MacPherson Weymouth