With Coxwain Colin Davies and his great-niece Chloe on the Loughor lifeboat
Nia Griffith MP saw the Loughor lifeboat and met crew members at a recent fete in Llwynhendy.
Colin Davies, coxwain of the Loughor lifeboat, who has taken over from his father who founded the lifeboat, explained:
“The Loughor Lifeboat is one of about 50 independently run lifeboats in the UK. We are not part of the RNLI, and so we are on our own in terms of raising the necessary funds to maintain and run our service, and train up new crew. Based down by the Loughorbridge, we cover the area down from Hendy and all around the shores of Llanelli. The next closest lifeboats are at Burry Port and Mumbles.”
Nia Griffith commented,
“As a community we are all very grateful to the Loughor Lifeboat crew and their supporters for all they do to provide an absolutely invaluable service, with their crew often risking very adverse conditions to rescue people in extreme difficulties. I had not realised that they were an independent organisation, and so clearly they rely on people like ourselves to help with funding. They told me how one recent rescue involved a very experienced local fisherman who was sinking chest high in the quicksands: they got him just in time. That is a warning to us all just how treacherous these shores can be, with the sands continually shifting. Please stress to everyone you know to be very, very careful anywhere on near the estuary, or indeed on any open water. “
http://www.loughorlifeboat.org.uk/