CAMPAIGNERS trying to save Portland Coastguard’s helicopter say they will not give up the fight and are urging people to make their views known to the government.

The fight-back comes after the government’s announcement last week that the craft would not be maintained after 2017.

The news was confirmed in a letter from Secretary of State Justine Greening to South Dorset MP Richard Drax.

In the letter Miss Greening said: “I am standing by my decision, based on extensive modelling and analysis. I am confident that my doing so will not increase the overall risk of loss of life, and believe this decision is a sound one.”

Mr Drax said that plans were under way to set up a small group to look at the evidence used by the Secretary of State in making her decision.

He said their first action would be to write back to Miss Greening with the views of the group and Dorset residents.

He added: “Then we need to get hold of the report she based her decision on. We think there are some flaws in their thinking.”

One area that Mr Drax raised as a concern was response times.

He said: “We think their thinking is fatally flawed. We have got to get hold of the report and see if we can prove our point.”

Mr Drax said the fight was not over and urged Echo readers to write to Miss Greening telling her how important the helicopter is.

He said: “I want to see every single person who has been helped, aided, supported by the helicopter and all who feel passionately about the helicopter to write to Justine Greening now and explain why the helicopter is so important.”

He added: “This is very much worth fighting for, because it’s desperately and urgently needed.”

Portland town councillor Sandy West said that the fight would continue and that a petition to save the helicopter was still going strong.

She said that volunteers would be out on the streets of Weymouth and Portland over the next couple of months collecting signatures.

She said: “This government really needs to look at what they are doing. The fight is not over.”

She added that Miss Greening should reconsider the plans and go back to the drawing board.

She said: “If she thinks we are going to forget it, she can think again.”

Secretary of state for Transport Justine Greening can be contacted by writing to The House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA or by email at greeningj@ parliament.uk