Coaster escort Another service which made the headlines was carried out by the Hastings and Eastbourne lifeboats on 14 November 1993.

The coaster Tern was badly down by the head and in severe difficulties 10 miles off the Sussex coast when the alarm was raised.

Both lifeboats were at sea for a considerable time in Gale Force winds, which gusted considerably higher, standing by while the crew was taken off by helicopter and the skipper, alone on board, fought to beach the vessel safely near Bexhill.

Hastings lifeboat put crew members aboard once Tern was aground to help secure her.

The photograph, courtesy RAF Mansion, shows the ship's predicament and the diminutive size of Eastbourne's Mersey class Royal Thames when viewed from the air in gale force conditions..