WIRRAL West's new Member of Parliament has praised the work of Hoylake Lifeboat Station volunteers during a special visit. 

Newly-elected Matthew Patrick's trip to Hoylake Lifeboat station on Thursday (August 29) was part of a tour of community organisations in his constituency.

During the visit, he met Hoylake RNLI Coxswain Howie Owen and some of the station’s volunteers, before having a tour around the lifeboat station from Lifeboat Visits Officer Brian Jordan.

He also heard about Hoylake's long lifesaving history from 1803 to the present day, taking in the station’s memorial to the 1810 disaster in which eight Hoylake crew lost their lives.

He was shown numerous certificates recognising the bravery of crews over two centuries and photographs of the station’s historic boats and volunteers.

As part of the tour,  Mr Patrick was able to see up close Hoylake RNLI's modern all-weather Shannon class lifeboat, launch and recovery system, and Inshore Rescue Hovercraft, as well as the station facilities and crew kit.

The station's volunteers also spoke about some of their recent rescues and how the changing seasons can bring different challenging incidents.

Mr Patrick also heard how the local community supports the RNLI through generous donations at fundraising events throughout the year.

He said: "The RNLI is a huge part of the Wirral community, so it was a real privilege to be able to visit the Hoylake station on Thursday.

"I was thrilled to meet staff and volunteers to hear about their lifesaving work, and to be able to celebrate the centuries-long history of service they're a part of."

Howie said: "It was great to welcome Matthew to Hoylake RNLI as our new local MP and we appreciate him taking the time to hear about the commitment of our lifesaving volunteers, past and present.

"We've been fortunate to have support from our Members of Parliament over the years and look forward to welcoming Matthew back to the lifeboat station in the future for some of our community events."