AN official opening ceremony will be held next week for Minehead’s National Coastwatch Station.

The Lord Lieutenant of Somerset Mohammed Saddiq will visit the station to perform the honours on Thursday, June 11.

Mr Saddiq will be accompanied by Deputy Lord Lieutenant Rear Admiral Ian Moncrief, while other dignitaries attending will include National Coastwatch chief operations officer Phil Styles, and representatives from Minehead Town Council, the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, and the UK’s Border Force.

Mr Saddiq will meet some of the volunteer watchkeepers and other invited guests before performing the opening ceremony and unveiling a commemorative plaque.

The sea front Coastwatch station recently achieved an important milestone when it was recognised as a ‘Declared Facility Status Station’, meaning all its volunteers were trained to HM Coastguard-agreed standards.