Thermal camera will save lives - lifeboat charity

Hornsea Inshore Rescue This photo shows a group of six people standing in a lifeboat station. Three wear bright yellow jackets and one holds a thermal imaging camera. A man in a navy Humberside Fire and Rescue shirt shakes hands with another man. A rescue boat is visible in the background.
Hornsea Inshore Rescue
Mark Chester, from Humberside Fire and Rescue Service, hands the camera over to coxswain Paul Jebson

A lifeboat charity says a new thermal imaging camera would "undoubtedly" save lives.

The equipment was gifted to Hornsea Inshore Rescue by Humberside Fire and Rescue Service on Thursday.

The crew already had a camera but it was old and outdated, according to station manager Sue Hickson-Marsay.

Ms Hickson-Marsay said thermal imaging cameras, which detects body heat, were particularly useful in low-visibility conditions.

She added the lifeboat crew had used the equipment in the past to spot people stranded on cliffs and to locate people in the sea.

Posting on social media, the charity said the cameras would "undoubtedly save lives and improve the safety of our crew during rescue operations".

Ms Hickson-Marsay added crew would soon be trained on how to use the new equipment.

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