A MARITIME and Coastguard Agency (MCA) decision would result in a greater risk of harm for residents and visitors in West Somerset, local MP Rachel Gilmour claimed.

The MCA is axing £11 per hour payments for Coastguard rescue officers (CROs) responding to call-outs and attending training exercises as it redesignates them as ‘volunteers’ from September of this year.

The money, which is below National Minimum Wage rates, has been paid to compensate them for income lost from their day jobs and time away from their families, which has often meant missing occasions such as birthdays or Christmas.

Mrs Gilmour took part in a Westminster Hall debate on the issue and said the MCA was directly responsible for leaving West Somerset people ‘more vulnerable to harm’.

West Somerset has two HM Coastguard rescue teams, in Minehead and Watchet, staffed by local, trained volunteers who respond to incidents such as mud and cliff rescues, missing person searches, and people cut off by the fast-moving tides of the Bristol Channel.

Mrs Gilmour said coastal communities had warned the MCA decision could trigger mass resignations and put public safety at risk as CROs would have to prioritise their paid employment.

She said: “We are a proud seafaring nation.

“As John Evelyn put it, the ‘sea is England’s element’, and the Coastguard stands as the nation’s eyes and ears along our shore.

“I ask the Minister, on behalf of my constituents who now face greater vulnerability as a direct result, on what basis the decision was made.

“It looks like negligence, but I fear that the blame lies squarely with the MCA.

“These CROs show extraordinary courage in the line of duty, and, as we all know, ‘with courage, nothing is impossible’.”

The MCA decision follows an Appeals Court ruling that CROs were ‘workers’ with the right to claim hourly pay.