Lifeboat service faces funding threat

The lifeboat service in Cornwall is struggling to raise funds to meet the increasing cost of maintenance and equipment.

The latest figures show that 2011 was the second busiest year on record.

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution is hugely reliant on public donations, with only two per cent of their funding coming from government sources.

Patch Harvey, coxswain of the Penlee Lifeboat, fears that high costs could be a problem in 2012. 

Around 95% of the RNLI's 4,800 crewmen and women in the UK are volunteers and last year they contributed over 200,000 hours at sea.

Over half the call-outs were to engine-powered pleasure craft, with machinery failure the main cause. The charity run safety education programmes aimed at preventing emergencies and highlighting the importance of regular maintenance.