In pictures: RNLI crew photography competition

LIFEBOATS upturned in a ferocious storm. Crews battling what seem like impossible odds. Weary sailors returning from a long, cold night working in atrocious conditions. But dramatic though these award-winning entries in the annual RNLI crew photography competition are, they barely capture the invaluable work the volunteers do every day.

Whether searching for lost fishermen in a gale, responding to a helicopter crash at sea, rescuing surfers or simply picking up wayward walkers stranded by the tide on Cramond Island, lifeboat crew members are a phone call away.

But never has their work been thrown into more dramatic focus, with deep cuts to the Coastguard services dramatically affecting the work of the lifeboats. At the end of last year, it was announced that both Clyde and Forth Coastguard stations are to close, while the Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre at Aberdeen – the station currently responsible for dealing with all major North Sea incidents, and which coordinated the rescue effort during the Piper Alpha disaster in 1988 – is to be downgraded.

That will leave only three 24-hour Coastguard stations in Scotland – Aberdeen, Stornoway and Shetland – while there will be only one new Maritime Operations Centre based at Fareham, Hampshire, covering the entire coastline of Britain. Union leaders and Scottish government ministers have already warned the cuts will put lives at risk, particularly in the fishing and oil and gas industries.

The RNLI, meanwhile, will continue to do its job within these new constraints. With 4,500 volunteer crew members, it is a service based on courage, skill and selflessness, and saving lives is just another day at the office.

rnli.org.uk