Hovercraft returns to one of the busiest lifeboat stations in Norfolk after refit

The RNLI search and rescue hovercraft which is one of just four in operation around the UK coastline returned home to Norfolk on Monday 18 November.

On the coldest night of the year the Hunstanton Flyer made the six-hour journey by road from Dorset where she'd be undergoing maintenance since July.

Since she officially came on service on 25th July 2003 she has been launched more than 250 times, saved 13 lives and assisted more than 150 people who found themselves in difficulty or in danger.

She had been replaced by relief hovercraft Samburgh, which was flown by the Hunstanton crew on a number of 'shouts' during her stay at the station.

Driver Tony Pony - as he is known throughout the RNLI - expertly reversed his lorry down the narrow lane to the station with inches to spare.

He then deployed its crane to lift the four-tonne craft onto her pad, where she was checked over before she took off for a brief test flight on the nearby beach.

Samburgh was then lifted into position on the rig as the coldest night of the year night closed in, ready for her return journey to Poole.

Volunteers at Hunstanton RNLI cover The Wash, a tidal estuary bordered by Norfolk and Lincolnshire covering an area of around 100 square miles.

At low tide, large areas of its sand bars and mud flats are inaccessible to conventional craft but the hovercraft can simply fly across them.

The 35mph craft, powered by two turbocharged diesel engines, is also able to reach casualties who have been cut off by the treacherous Norfolk tides and return them safely to the shore.