CAMPAIGNERS are renewing support for the Portland Coastguard helicopter after it rescued three fishermen who had spent 11 hours in a life-raft.

The crew were airlifted to safety by the helicopter after their boat Betty G capsized in Lyme Bay in the early hours.

Supporters of the coastguard campaign are urging people to sign an online petition to save the helicopter, which faces the axe in 2017 over budget cuts.

The three men, skipper Stuart Greene, Joe Moore and Max Didlick, from Brixham in Devon, were winched to safety on Monday afternoon after spending more than 11 hours adrift in the raft.

A passing dive boat, Blue Turtle, saw them waving a red flare and managed to pull them to safety.

Robert King, skipper of the Blue Turtle, said the helicopter arrived minutes after he made an emergency radio call.

He said: “The coastguard was with me in a matter of minutes and were superbly professional and got the casualties ashore in a few more minutes.

“The helicopter dropped a winchman down and airlifted them up.

“This is a perfect example of why we need to save it, if the coastguard is coming from further away it’s only going to add more time.

“We need every signature we can get on the petition to reverse this daft decision.”

He added: “The men were frantically waving, they were cold, wet and quite shaken up.

“Their boat capsized instantly and they had no time to alert the emergency services so no-one knew they were unaccounted for.

“It seems they snagged something on the seabed while they were trawling and went over in seconds.

“If one of the crew had been below deck they could have been trapped inside.

“It was very lucky that we were going past.”

All three men were winched to safety and taken to the helicopter base on Portland where they were checked over by paramedics.

South Dorset MP Richard Drax said: “This highlights to me, like all these incidents do, the need for our aerial asset.

“Although it wasn’t used immediately in this case it’s the fact that these incidents occur that underlines the need.

“This incident followed all too shortly the Purbeck Isle tragedy.

“It’s yet another example which undermines the government’s logic in this decision.”

The petition needs 100,000 signatures to raise the issue in Parliament before it closes on August 23.

To sign visit epetitions.direct.gov.uk/petitions/30225