logo
Technical fault puts Douglas lifeboat station out of action

Technical fault puts Douglas lifeboat station out of action

BBC News2 days ago
The Douglas Lifeboat Station is out of action due to the lack of a working vessel, the RNLI has confirmed.The station's lifeboat, Ruby Clery, had been replaced by a relief Mersey Class vessel after suffering a technical failure.However, that relief boat had to be taken out of action due to "its own technical failure" on 15 May, and would need to be sent elsewhere for repairs leaving the station temporarily out of action.A spokeswoman for the RNLI said the Ruby Clery had now been repaired and would return to the station "if all goes well with the sea trials" set to take place next week.
She said the organisation was "confident" that there was "sufficient lifeboat coverage" from neighbouring stations at Ramsey and Port St Mary during the period.
'Challenging time'
The Douglas vessel is set to be retired this year and replaced with a Trent Class lifeboat as an interim solution while talks continue over the future of the existing boathouse.It has not been confirmed how long repair works for the Mersey class lifeboat would take.Prior to its move to Douglas, the Ruby Clery previously spent 27 years in Peel, before serving as the Ramsey Lifeboat for three.The RNLI spokeswoman said that vessel would be lifted back into the water this week to undergo system checks with sea trials planned for next week. She said, if those checks and sea trials "prove satisfactory", passage arrangements would be made to return the former lifeboat to Douglas.Returning the former lifeboat was the "quickest, most cost-effective solution" to restore services, she said."We understand this is a challenging time for all at station and thank the crew for their patience and understanding," she added.
Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Two new public toilets opened by Derbyshire council
Two new public toilets opened by Derbyshire council

BBC News

time41 minutes ago

  • BBC News

Two new public toilets opened by Derbyshire council

Two public toilets that shut in part of Derbyshire in 2018 have been replaced with new Dales District Council said it had opened accessible unisex toilet facilities in Ashbourne and Ashbourne Park, the new toilet opened to the public this week with support from Ashbourne Town Artists' Corner on Dale Road in Matlock Dale, the council said a new toilet opened in June and would be open on a seasonal basis until the end of October. The authority said the openings followed the saving of a toilet earmarked for closure at Monsal Head, while new toilets are planned at Darley Dale's Whitworth Centre.

Wetheral Brownies gain badge for tackling dog fouling
Wetheral Brownies gain badge for tackling dog fouling

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Wetheral Brownies gain badge for tackling dog fouling

A group of Brownies has been awarded badges after completing a messy mission to clean up dog 1st Wetheral Brownies in Cumbria carried out Operation Together United for Responsible Dog Ownership (Turd) after realising dog fouling was becoming a problem in the just one 200m (660ft) stretch, the 26 Brownies found 29 piles of dog mess, which they marked using flags designed with laminated poo leader Janice Brown, known as Tawny Owl, said the girls were "extremely shocked" at finding so much waste and their first thought was to "write to the King" about the problem. "We thought that was a bit extreme," Ms Brown the Brownies decided to contact Cumberland Council about the issue and the troop created banners to promote anti-fouling in the area. Irresponsible grown-ups For taking part in Operation Turd, the Brownies were awarded their Speak Out badge, which is earned for working to solve an issue they feel strongly the unhygienic nature of the waste, the children, who are aged between seven and 10, were not put off during their mission."We weren't asking them to touch it or pick it up as that would have been a health issue," Ms Brown said. "But they were genuinely curious as to how much there was and they couldn't believe the grown-ups were so irresponsible." The Brownies had a meeting with officers from Cumberland Council where they were able to make suggestions about how to tackle dog were also taught about the harm dog fouling can do, including how cows can choke on bags of waste left behind by irresponsible pet council's executive member for sustainable, resilient and connected places, Denise Rollo, said the 1st Wetheral Brownies had "real pride in where they live". "Their actions set a powerful example for all of us," she said, adding: "From identifying local issues to engaging directly with dog walkers, they've shown maturity, initiative, and genuine community spirit." The group has also shown its commitment to their home region by making the shortlist for a competition to design a new community flag for design is one of six shortlisted with a winner to be chosen by the public. Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.

Wolverhampton cat cafe to open with rescued felines from Qatar
Wolverhampton cat cafe to open with rescued felines from Qatar

BBC News

timean hour ago

  • BBC News

Wolverhampton cat cafe to open with rescued felines from Qatar

"If I hadn't rescued them, they'd all be dead. I'm sure of that."When Debbie Morgan worked as a nurse in Qatar, she rescued dozens of sick kittens and cats from the blazing heat of the streets, nursing them back to health. Many of them she kept as pets, while others were after eight years of working in the Arabian state, Mrs Morgan decided to return home to Wolverhampton, where she grew up, but she knew she would not be leaving the 19 cats behind."I couldn't leave them there. I wanted something better for them," she said. After the ordeal of bringing the felines back on six 12-hour flights to the UK, Mrs Morgan knew her cats needed sociability, since they loved people, and she could see them pining for interaction with when she and her sister, Marie Morris, decided the best environment for their welfare would be a cafe, which they have appropriately called The have taken over the former Cafe Royale on Victoria Street in the city centre, and hope to open as soon as they get their cat welfare licence. Announcements that The Qattery will be opening has delighted many people in Wolverhampton.. On social media, people have asked why the cats were from Qatar when the UK had thousands of stray cats in rescue Morgan explained that "they'll never be up for adoption - they're my cats". "If the cafe closed, they have a home," she 58-year-old knows how brutal the life in Qatar was for the cats she rescued."Qatar can be up to 50C (122F) in temperature on some days. They don't live over there with that heat," she said. During her time in Qatar, Mrs Morgan rescued kittens from metal bins in the stifling heat, picked up others who had been run over, and even had to perform a risky rescue of a kitten who she saw at the side of a of the problem, Mrs Morgan said, was expats taking in cats when they moved to Qatar then "abandoning them on the streets" when they leave."There were five-month-old kittens left outside. In a way it's worse than them never having had a home," she said."They don't know how to live on the streets." The Qattery After a litany of different medical tests, vaccines and paperwork, Mrs Morgan brought her 19 cats over to the UK."It was quite stressful. You can only bring five cats over in your name at a time," Mrs Morgan said."And you can only bring them in through two airports in England - Manchester and Heathrow."The 58-year-old moved back to Wolverhampton in March, where she built an extension and 20-foot catio - an enclosed outdoor patio designed for cats - on her house of 30 years to look after all of her she says they've settled in well, she believes they miss the company of so many people and that a cat cafe will be the environment to suit their needs the most. Mrs Morgan and her sister soon found the "perfect" venue for them - the former Cafe Royale in the city sisters will be keeping the cafe downstairs as a regular cafe, without any cats there, while the upstairs space will be the cat cafe."We want to keep the activities that have been running for the community like the autism cafe and open mic nights. That's what attracted us to the place," Mrs Morgan said.A separate room will also allow the cats to have their own space without customers, which is a requirement of welfare Morgan also hopes to host educational sessions to talk to people who are considering getting a kitten what it entails and how best to care for them. In March, the RSPCA and Cats Protection called for a phasing out of cat cafes, saying it was "almost impossible" to meet the welfare needs of cats in this environment. Mrs Morgan believes cat welfare in cafes should be taken more seriously and that there needs to be more legislation - as it isn't currently mandatory to license cat café she said: "I agree some of them need looking at, but I think we meet what the RSPCA and Cats Protection are saying."We know our cats, I know what my cats want. I think a cat cafe benefits them."It's not a business per say, it's for their benefit - for them to have a better life." Follow BBC Wolverhampton & Black Country on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store