A Dorchester man is on a mission to bring back the regular use of Weymouth lifeboat's maroon flares.

The decision was made to stop using the flares, except under specific circumstances, because of fears over safety and intrusion into people's lives.

Recreational sailor Mansel Hiles, 56, is so outraged by the decision he plans to get the manufacturers to redesign them. He said: "The feeling was that these were an outdated system, expensive and dangerous.

"I've lived here all my life and I've never heard of anyone being hurt by one of those things.

"There's a metal casing inside the rocket. It usually comes back to earth and falls quite slowly.

"I don't see why the company couldn't make something more appropriate."

Mr Hiles, of Blagdon Road, Dorchester, plans to contact McMurdo, the company which makes the flares, to see if they can be made any safer.

Roselyne Crowther, chief press officer for the Royal Naval Lifeboat Institution, said: "I think if he's doing that it would be useful if he contacted someone at the RNLI first. We have had reports of maroons being misfired.

"We've had some near misses and some not so near misses.

"So the decision was taken to stop using them unless necessary."

The only circumstances under which maroons should be fired is if the rescuers' pager system fails or to let someone know that help is coming if there is no other means of contacting them.

Keith Bradford, UK sales and marketing manager for McMurdo, said: "If the RNLI wanted us to redesign them we could look at that but it might not be financially viable. We are quite happy to listen to what Mr Hiles has to say and I am happy that he takes such an interest in it."