MINEHEAD is to get a new state-of-the-art lifeboat - the first of its kind in the Bristol Channel - thanks to the generosity of a longstanding local RNLI supporter. A legacy in the will of former Minehead resident Joan Batty, a retired headteacher who was a member of the Minehead Lifeboat Guild, has made the £125,000 investment in the Atlantic 85 boat possible. The craft is the latest development of the B Class inshore lifeboat and is significantly larger than the station's existing Atlantic 75, providing space for four crew rather than the current three, and improved casualty facilities. The boat, which will be called the Richard and Elizabeth Deaves, will have a top speed of 35 knots thanks to its new four-stroke Yamaha engines, allowing greatly improved response times and significant fuel savings. It will be fitted with the latest radar and VHF direction finding equipment, similar to that found on larger all-weather lifeboats. This, coupled with the new design features, will enable it to work safely in conditions up to gale force seven. Minehead's lifeboat operations manager Kevin Escott described the news of the new addition as fantastic for all associated with the station and the town. "It is particularly poignant as the donor was a local resident and longstanding lifeboat guild member," he said. Paul Arnold, volunteer senior helmsman at the Minehead station, said: "We have all become extremely attached to our current Atlantic 75 - Bessie. "However, the Atlantic 85 embraces the very latest technology and will enable us to further improve our response times. "As the new lifeboat was developed by the RNLI's own inshore lifeboat centre, it really does seem to be a lifeboat built by lifeboat men for lifeboat men."