A LIFEBOAT manager has expressed his disappointment after it was revealed a coastal town would see its all weather lifeboat replaced as part of a huge shake-up in north Essex.

Walton and Frinton’s Tamar class all-weather lifeboat will be replaced by a D-class inshore lifeboat. The D-class is designed to operate close to shore in shallow waters.

Additionally, a Shannon class all-weather lifeboat will replace Clacton RNLI’s current Atlantic B-class inshore lifeboat and work alongside.

It is understood the changes are linked to issues with using Walton Pier as a base.

Stewart Oxley, lifeboat operations manager at Walton and Frinton said: “Whilst this is a difficult time for us at Walton and Frinton, we are extremely pleased for our fellow volunteers at Clacton.

“This decision has its roots in the inability of our station to be able to continue to utilise the pier at Walton as an access point for the all-weather lifeboat.

“This issue is not the fault of the current pier owners, they purchased the pier only a short time before the issues arose in 2018 and inherited a difficult situation.”

The decision to reconfigure the RNLI’s lifeboats was approved by trustees following a review of the charity’s lifesaving assets in north Essex.

Harwich Lifeboat Station will retain its Severn class all-weather lifeboat and Atlantic 85 B-class in-shore lifeboats, while West Mersea will also retain its B-class in-shore lifeboat.

It means the Essex coast will retain its cover of six lifeboat stations and volunteer crews.

Ross Barraclough, RNLI head of north and east regions, said: “As we look ahead to a new era of lifesaving along the north Essex coast, I’d like to thank our volunteers and staff for their patience while we carried out this review, and for their ongoing commitment to saving lives at sea.

“We do understand that the Walton and Frinton crew are disappointed by this decision but I hope they will continue to work with us to ensure they are ready for the challenges and changes ahead.”

Mr Oxley added: “We are in ongoing discussions with the RNLI regional management team about how life boating at Walton will look going forward.

“We will be continuing to operate the Tamar all-weather lifeboat for the next 12-18 months, so its business as normal for a while yet.”