Gosport's Gafirs and town MP Dame Caroline Dinenage back new National Independent Lifeboat Association

Caroline Dinenage is backing a new National Independent Lifeboat Association, the NILA, which is a new charity which has been set up to support the UK’s independent lifeboats to ensure water safety.

It has been supported by The Department for Transport and the Maritime and Coastguard Agency.

One of the most established members of the NILA is the Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service.

In the UK there are currently 46 independent lifeboat organisations as well as many Royal National Lifeboat Association funded lifeboats and kept afloat almost entirely by volunteers.

NILA now includes 29 members from the UK who work collaboratively with their local Coastguard team, police force or fire service.

Andy Barber, operations director for Gafirs, said: ‘The issue we have as an independent lifeboat rescue, and this is not to knock the RNLI in any way, but they get a lot more national publicity, and independents need this as well.

‘We were one of the first to sign up to the association.

‘NILA was set up to help the independence get more national publicity. The RNLI are fantastic in so many ways but by having independence, it means we can do things that work for us.’

Dame Caroline said that the Gafirs is a ‘vital asset to our community, covering one of the busiest stretches of water along the UK coastline.’

She said that she looks forward to ‘working with NILA to support lifeboat stations up and down the country.’

The NILA was founded by Anthony Mangnall, MP of Totnes and South Devon, after he visited his local independent lifeboat and found that the lifesaving organisation faced challenges ‘including funding, public awareness and long-term support’. He is now the honorary president.

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Mr Mangnall collaborated with Parliament and experts to create the NILA charity.

The charity provides ‘independent lifeboats the support and recognition they desperately need.’

Mr Mangnall added: ‘After two years working together with the independent lifeboats of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, I am pleased to see our initiative come to fruition.’

Chair of NILA, Neil Dalton, said: ‘Many areas of the UK are served by independent lifeboats so the National Independent Lifeboat Association intends to raise awareness of these organisations.’