A HUGE mechanical claw started slicing through the slipway at Swanage’s former RNLI lifeboat station yesterday, as the project to demolish the historic building stepped-up a gear.

Diggers have moved onto the site to tear down the 140-year-old lifeboat station, as it makes way for a new £3.5million base, due for completion in 2016.

This new state-of-the-art building is being constructed to house the RNLI’s latest £1.5million Shannon Class jet-propelled lifeboat.

RNLI operations manager Neil Hardy said: “We have been working in less than ideal conditions for some time and the new boathouse will bring new facilities we need for the next 50 to 70 years.”

Hundreds of onlookers packed the waterfront at Peveril Point earlier this month to watch the town’s two existing lifeboats launch down the slipway for the last time. The volunteer lifeboat crew will now take up temporary residence at Swanage Boat Park – from where the lifeboats, Charles Brown and Phyl & Jack will be operational.

Swanage lifeboat chairman Peter Foster said: “Swanage will have the only slipway to launch the Shannon in the country, which is something we are very proud of.”

The old lifeboat station had been a feature in the Victorian town since its construction in 1875.

Speaking before demolition started, Mr Hardy said: “There’s no pretending that the next 18 months are going to be easy. The demands on the coxswain and volunteer crew are going to be enormous and I thank them in advance for their patience and goodwill.

“But we will come out of the project with a superb new lifeboat station that will be a delight to the RNLI team here and a vital investment for the future of the RNLI in Swanage.”