SWANAGE'S new £1.5m Shannon Class all-weather RNLI lifeboat has had its first 'shout'.

The water jet-propelled craft, the George Thomas Lacy, was called out to help in the search of a missing person just 48-hours after officially coming into service.

It replaces Swanage's old Mersey Class lifeboat.

Swanage Pier was packed full of people for the arrival of the new Shannon Class vessel - and the station's volunteers completed two days of tough assessments before it was declared operational.

RNLI divisional operations manager Nigel Jones said: "It gives me great pleasure that the lifeboat 13-13 George Thomas Lacy officially became Swanage RNLI's lifeboat and went on service.

"We are tremendously impressed with the way all the volunteers at Swanage RNLI have committed so much time and effort to training over the past few weeks, and thank them for their dedication."

The same day George Thomas Lacy came into service was also the same day three long-standing members of the Swanage lifeboat crew decided to step down.

Coxswain Martin Steeden retires after 40 years of service, 16 years as coxswain. Colin Marks, assistant mechanic, steps down after 23 years of dedicated service and Jon Deare, head launcher of the all-weather lifeboat retires after almost 28 years.

Dave Turnbull is the new coxswain of the Swanage lifeboat. Having joined the crew in December 1992, Dave has already served over 23 years as volunteer crew, 17 of those as a lifeboat mechanic.

An RNLI spokesman said: "The former Mersey class all-weather lifeboat Robert Charles Brown has now gone off service and in the next few weeks a number of Swanage RNLI crew members will take her on a return passage back to the RNLI headquarters in Poole.

"The trip will be the last for coxswain Martin Steeden who has officially retired, now the Shannon has become operational."

Swanage's new £3.5 million lifeboat station, which will eventually house the new lifeboat, should be completed later this year.