Wells-next-the-Sea welcomes first new RNLI lifeboat in a generation

Hundreds of people welcomed a town's first new lifeboat in a generation after years of fundraising.

The 42ft (13m) Duke of Edinburgh was met with cheers and applause as she arrived into Wells-next-the-Sea Quay in Norfolk with three of her predecessors.

The £2.5m boat replaces the smaller Doris Mann of Ampthill, the oldest serving lifeboat in the RNLI fleet.

"She's coming home today - it's really special," said Wells lifeboat chairman Peter Rainsford.

"We've been raising money and getting excited about this for a very long time.

"It's incredible; so many people have worked so hard to make this happen.

"Our crew will serve on her, and their children, and their children."

The flotilla that ushered in the new boat spanned 60 years of lifeboats in Wells and included the Lucy Lavers, whose first shout was to the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940.

The new, faster Shannon class lifeboat, which is powered by twin water jets, is a leap forward from the 39ft (12m) Doris Mann, which uses propellers and has been in service in Wells for 32 years.

"The technology has really moved on; she's more manoeuvrable," said coxswain Nicky King.

"I liken it to going from an old Nokia brick phone to a new iPhone.

"But it still does the same job, it's still a boat - sharp at one end and blunt at the other, and that wet stuff we go out on hasn't changed a lot; it's still cold and horrible."

Supporters raised £250,000 towards the cost of the lifeboat in a local appeal in 2015, with further funds coming from the RNLI.

The RNLI said the new lifeboat station was not yet open to the public but information about opportunities to see the lifeboat would be released in the "months ahead".

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