MINEHEAD has a new £52,000 lifeboat – called the Exmoor Belle following a competition among pupils at Minehead Middle School.

The replacement D class lifeboat was delivered to the station last week and has already been put through its paces by the station’s RNLI crew during training sessions. It will be officially named at a ceremony on March 21.

The winning name was dreamed up by Lilia Guscott, whose father James and grandfather Steve are both former members of the lifeboat crew.

The boat was constructed at the RNLI’s inshore lifeboat centre at East Cowes on the Isle of Wight and two years ago the Minehead station was invited to contribute to the cost.

Minehead RNLI chairman Bryan Stoner said the station’s fund-raising group had turned immediately to the local community in view of its long and impressive history of supporting the station’s work.

“And I am delighted to say yet again local people came up trumps,” he said.

“Donations soon began flowing in while a number of individuals and organisations arranged specific money-raising events.

“All the money was raised within six months, a really fantastic achievement. In fact, we had to close the appeal with money still coming in because our target had been exceeded.”

The Exmoor Belle replaces another D class which had given ten years’ active service at the station and been launched hundreds of times on service and on exercise.

An RNLI spokesman said: “D class lifeboats have been saving lives at Minehead for 50 years.

“They are rugged, manoeuvrable and quick to launch – the volunteer Minehead crew reckon to be at sea within seven or eight minutes of being alerted.

“D class boats are capable of operating in surf, in very shallow water and among rocks and have become the workhorse of the RNLI fleet.

“Exmoor Belle is the latest development of that original design but is considerably more sophisticated in terms of equipment.”

The boat is 5.5 metres long with a 2.2m beam. Powered by a 50hp outboard engine, it is capable of 25 knots and is equipped for day and night work with an endurance time at sea of three hours at full speed.

It normally carries a crew of three and can accommodate up to five casualties.