Coastguards have been told to stop using flares in rescue missions.

The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) has banned the pistol-propelled lights, used to illuminate the sky in searches since the First World War.

It said the devices were of “very little operational value” and that rescue teams should concentrate on using modern alternatives, like night-vision goggles and infrared cameras.

The agency insisted the move was not introduced because of health and safety reasons.

The ban means Thames Coastguard will no longer be able to use flares in land-based cliff or beach rescues along the Tendring coast.

However, the authority’s vessel at Walton will still carry them as standard kit for sea operations in conjunction with lifeboat crews.

A spokesman for the MCA said: “We did a survey over a few months asking our 400 volunteer rescue teams when they last used flares, why they used them and how they used them.

“The feedback we received was that they were hardly ever used.

“Flares don’t have a long shelf life and, if no-one uses them, they’re not cost-effective.

“It’s not a good use of money to have a box of fireworks sitting in a van.”

Flare caches will be handed to the lifeboat service or destroyed by December 31.

Thames Coastguard declined to comment.

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