RNLI volunteer marks 20 years of service

A volunteer with the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) has marked 20 years of service, saying it has been "enjoyable and rewarding".

Plymouth lifeboat crewmember and second coxswain Stephen Bennetts, from neighbouring Saltash in Cornwall, said he had made lifelong friends among the crew and other volunteers.

Bennetts joined the station in 2006 and quickly became an "integral part of the volunteer crew", the RNLI said.

The life-saving charity said he had been involved in 650 launches, aided 870 people and spent in excess of 1,000 hours at sea, with many more hours spent on exercise and training.

Bennetts initially served on both the station's inshore and all-weather lifeboats before progressing through a number of roles, supporting crew training and development, the charity said.

He rose to become an inshore lifeboat helm and later a senior helm, it added.

He said he then became a coxswain, the most senior role at sea, on Plymouth's Severn class all-weather lifeboat in 2016.

"My first service came soon after, assisting a beam trawler aground on Mountbatten breakwater, and since then I've taken part in many services and exercises in a wide range of conditions, all of which have been enjoyable and rewarding," Bennetts said.

Bennetts said his volunteer work would not have been possible without the support of his family and colleagues.

He said: "My dad was a volunteer firefighter for 30 years – and growing up watching him run off to help others made me realise I wanted that same sense of camaraderie in my own life," said Bennetts.

Station coxswain Neil Humphrey said Bennetts consistently put others first, responded at all hours, in all conditions, with no expectation of thanks or reward.

"His commitment reflects the very best of volunteer lifesaving: quiet professionalism, reliability and an unwavering sense of duty," Humphrey said.

"Steve's service has made a real and lasting difference to countless people, many of whom will never know his name, but whose lives have been shaped by the dedication of volunteers like him."

Nigel Gray, lifeboat operations manager, added: "Steve has been a constant of calm and skill during my time at the station.

"His dedication to Plymouth RNLI Lifeboat Station is incredible.

"He shares his experience amongst the newer crew and is a fountain of knowledge that we all tap into."

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