Village honours lifeboat disaster

The old lifeboat station is closed as a memorial to the crew members

A village has turned off its Christmas lights to mark the 25th anniversary of a Cornish lifeboat disaster.

Eight Penlee lifeboatmen died trying to save eight crew of the Union Star cargo ship after it suffered engine failure in hurricane force winds in 1981.

A formal inquiry in 1982 concluded severe weather had led to the deaths of the men who had set out from Mousehole.

The village turned the lights off on Tuesday for an hour and switched on others in the shape of a white cross.

The cross could be seen on the hillside above the village, and the RNLI flag was flown at half-mast at the old lifeboat station.

As part of the commemorations, the standard of the Solomon Browne lifeboat has gone on display in Truro Cathedral.

Wreckage of the lifeboat was presented to the cathedral in 1985 for a memorial to the crew.

The old Penlee Lifeboat Station and slipway are also kept closed as a permanent memorial.

Current Penlee crew member Patrick Harvey said: "It was devastating for everyone. It is a difficult time of the year."