Yorkshireman becomes one of the youngest lifeboat helmsmen in the country

Congratulations have been pouring in after a 23-year-old Yorkshiremen became one of the youngest lifeboat helmsmen in the country.
Will BellWill Bell
Will Bell

Will Bell has been with the crew of Flamborough lifeboat for the past five years.

He has now successfully completed his training, making him the youngest serving helmsman at Flamborough and one of the youngest in the RNLI.

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There have been many and varied stages to his training including, search and rescue, night navigation, boat handling and casualty care.

He spent two weeks at the RNLI college in Poole combined with extensive station-based training, with his competence checked at every stage by an assessor.

Flamborough Lifeboat Operations Manager David Freeman said:"'The training requires a considerable amount of work and commitment. We congratulate Will and are happy that he has progressed to helmsman."

Station manager at RNLI Humber Dave Steenvoorden was also among those to post his congratulations on social media.

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Will said the work had been difficult at times but he was glad that all the hard work had come to fruition.

He said: "Now the learning will continue on another level."

Lifeboats were first introduced at North and South Landings at Flamborough, following the Great Gale of 1871.

The disaster, which struck Bridlington and the north east coast on February 10 1871, saw at least 70 seamen lose their lives, including six crewmembers of Bridlington’s fishermen’s lifeboat Harbinger, which was capsized by a giant wave, as it attempted to rescue a ship.

The station at South Landing, which is now the only one operational on the headland, houses the inshore Atlantic 85 lifeboat Elizabeth Jane Palmer.

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Also in the news: The introduction of new trains on the main TransPennine Express (TPE) route has been delayed until Spring at the earliest because the brakes on the locomotives do not work properly.