US coast guards in county visit

Tamar-class lifeboats have self-righting capability

A group of United States Coast Guard officers is making a journey to Cornwall to see the very latest in lifeboat technology.

The visit to Padstow is part of a fact-finding tour of the RNLI.

The visiting team come from the US Coastguard's motorboat training centre in Virginia.

They are here as part of an exchange programme between the British charity and the US Coast Guard department that has been running since 2002.

They are touring the new RNLI building at Trevose Head and will see the Spirit of Padstow, the station's new Tamar class lifeboat.

Padstow has been chosen for the visit as an example of a long-standing lifeboat station at the forefront of advanced lifeboat and building technology.

The Spirit of Padstow , which was launched last September, was bought from a legacy bequeathed by the late gin heiress Heather Allen.

The 31.5 tonne, 52ft (16m) long vessel has a crew of up to seven people, a top speed of up to 25 knots (28.8mph), and onboard computers to assist in rescues.