SOUTHEND lifeboat crews have welcomed a fall in the number of rescue missions – despite being named as one of the busiest stations in the country.

Latest figures show the RNLI crew launched 116 times last year to rescue 104 people, making it the third busiest station in the country and the busiest in Essex.

This compares to 143 call-outs the year before, and 158 in 2012.

Den Freeman, spokesman for Southend RNLI, said: “For the last fewyears we have been one of the busiest stations as we have approximately seven miles of shore from Southend to Canvey that we cover, and the area is very busy, as far as leisure activities are concerned.

“Our call-outs cover everything from towing jobs of broken down vehicles to medical evacuations off ships, to people stuck on mud flats, or windsurfers in trouble.

“We are down on shouts this year, which is good as it means not so many people are in trouble, so that either means they are heeding the safety warnings we and the coastguard put on the beaches, or it just a bit of a fluke.

“We had some terrific weather last year and a lot of people on the beaches, but we are glad we are not as busy.”

The Southend call-outs accounted for almost half of the 378 rescue missions in the county over the past year.

Overall, Essex crews rescued 408 people, five of which were likely to have died without the help of the lifeboat crews.

The organisation is entirely reliant on donations.

Mr Freeman added: “We rely on the good people of the country putting their hands in their pockets or fundraising for us.

“The RNLI needs £140million every year to keep its 236 life boats stations operational.

“If we weren’t, there people would die. We have had some bad shouts over the years.”