SWANAGE Lifeboat Station was presented with a new lifeboat, which was named after the husband of a life-long donor.

The latest valuable addition to the inshore lifeboat fleet, the "Jack Cleare", was handed over at the station slipway in Swanage on Saturday.

Mrs Phyl Cleare, who along with her late husband Jack, has provided funding for four previous lifeboats, asked only that the D class £20,000 vessel could be named after her late husband.

She said: "I have always had the greatest admiration for the RNLI and am always amazed at the selflessness and courage of the crews, often in horrendous conditions."

She added: "I never forget their families either, who are also deserving of our admiration. I call them 'my family', and I'm so very proud of them all."

By making her generous donation, Mrs Cleare was keeping the boat very much in the family. It will join the D class Phyl Clare 11 - Clare was Mrs Cleare's maiden name - which was stationed in Swanage in the early '90s, and an Atlantic 75, the Phyl Clare 111, which arrived at Weymouth in 1998.

The couple also part-funded valuable kit for crew members, as well as the Mersey class Robert Charles Brown.

The new vessel, which is fitted with a global positioning system, is less than five metres in length and is the most manoeuvrable boat in the RNLI fleet with a top speed of 30 knots.