Beach rescue boat named in memory of murdered MP

A lifeguard club has unveiled a new rescue boat named in memory of a murdered local MP.

The "Sir David Amess MP" patrol boat will be officially launched by Chalkwell Lifeguards Club in Southend-on-Sea at a ceremony later this month.

Sir David was a long-serving Conservative MP for the Southend West constituency when he was fatally stabbed in Leigh-on-Sea by an IS fanatic in October 2021.

The club described the MP, who had previously been MP for Basildon, as "much loved and missed".

A spokesperson said the new rescue boat, which was funded by a £1,300 donation from Leigh-on-Sea Round Table, would "keep residents and visitors to Southend city safe all year round".

The catamaran was designed to allow the "easy recovery of a casualty" from the water into the front of the boat, enabling a "speedy return" to shore.

It is equipped with a defibrillator machine, bleed control kit and emergency first response bag.

Peggy Deacon, 95, a former volunteer for Sir David, said: "It's wonderful that we now have a Sir David Amess MP Lifeguard Rescue Boat to save lives in Southend as well as a Sir David Amess MP Pier train."

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