Coastguard centres saved from the axe

The number of coastguard centres being closed by the Government has been reduced from 11 to eight, the Transport Secretary Philip Hammond said yesterday.

The reduction comes after the House of Commons Transport Committee noted there would be "serious concerns" for safety if the reduction of 19 to eight centres went ahead.

All the remaining centres will be open 24 hours a day – another guarantee the Government had not put forward under the first closure plan.

Mr Hammond said: "Our updated proposals will ensure the safety of seafarers and coastal communities, delivering the modernised and more cost-effective service we need for the 21st century."

The shadow Transport Secretary Maria Eagle said the revised closures were focused on cost rather than safety. "That is a devastating blow to those stations which you propose to close – to the coastguards, their families and the communities they serve and in which they are held in such respect," she said.