Coastguard volunteers protest against payment cuts
BBCCoastguard volunteers have been in London to protest a cut to payments for on-call work.
They are currently paid £11-an-hour to attend emergency calls, but the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is removing that in September following a Court of Appeal judgment.
Electrician Sonny Spencer, who volunteers in Romney Marsh in Kent, said: "It does not cover what we lose from a job, but it helps to cover the costs of us going out to do these rescues."
Maritime minister Keir Mather said: "My officials and I have worked tirelessly but regrettably at this stage we have been unable to identify any legally robust option to continue payments beyond out-of-pocket expenses."
Speaking in Parliament on Wednesday, Eastbourne MP Josh Babarinde, said: "Their presence is often the difference between intervention and inquest.
"That is why I am outraged at the proposed changes which threaten to decimate our coastguard service and threaten lives."
Hastings and Rye MP Helena Dollimore said volunteers were "more needed than ever" due to extreme weather events.
And Folkestone and Hythe MP Tony Vaughan said it was "obvious" availability of volunteers would fall.
"Our coastal rescue services will simply start to disintegrate," he added.
The MCA said the cut was not one it wanted to make, but that it was a consequence of the court ruling which upheld a judgement classing responders as "workers" while they carry out their duties.
The agency added: "The new model protects choice, flexibility and the ability for people to volunteer alongside their primary employment."
