Award for shore crew member Ken

A volunteer who devoted 10 years' service to the charity that saves lives at sea has been honoured with a special award.

Retired firefighter Ken Gregg served as a plant driver at Hunstanton RNLI, one of the RNLI's busiest stations in Norfolk, for 10 years between 2009 and 2019.

He was part of the shore crew, who use the station's tractor to launch and recover its lifeboat Spirit of West Norfolk.

Ken, now 69, retired from his RNLI duties in 2019. But the Covid pandemic and family events prevented him from collecting his award.Hunstanton lifeboat operations manager Rigil Kent presented Ken's framed certificate at the boat house on Sunday, 19 November.

'Ken was a retired firefighter, so with his previous experience he fitted in well with the emergency environment,' he said.

'Ten years is a fantastic achievement, it's no mean feat.'

Plant operators are a key part of the team at Hunstanton, which is believed to be the first station in the country to use a tractor to launch its lifeboats after a century or so of using horses borrowed from local farmers during emergencies.

Credit RNLI/Chris Bishop

At low tide, the lifeboat needs to be towed across the sands on its rig to find sufficient depth to launch. In rougher seas, the shore crew may use net recovery to return the vessel to its station afterwards.

So far this year Hunstanton's lifeboat and hovercraft ave launched twenty seven times, with one life saved and nineteen people aided.