Inland lifeboat station celebrates 40 years of saving lives on UK waterways
A lifeboat station that launched four decades ago on a Gloucestershire dock is marking 40 years of rescues along Britain’s inland waterways.
The Severn Area Rescue Association (Sara) – founded in the 1970s – opened its second lifeboat station at Sharpness in 1986. What started as a handful of volunteers with a single small boat has since expanded into an organisation that now operates seven stations and ranks as the second biggest lifeboat provider in the country after the RNLI.
To commemorate the anniversary, crew members held an open day at the Sharpness site, offering the public behind-the-scenes access to decades of rescue equipment, archival photos and live demonstrations of water rescues.
Alan Palmer, the station’s training manager, has been involved since day one. “We started off with a very small crew and a very small boat and it’s grown into the organisation that it is now,” he said.
His son Dave Palmer followed him into the service and now serves as chief operations officer. “There was no question in my mind that I was going to do anything other than join Sara,” Dave said. When asked what keeps him committed, he replied: “The people. Definitely the people. It’s great to do what we do. It’s great to help the community. When we’re saving lives, it’s a feeling that can’t be equalled by anything else, but the day-to-day interactions with the rest of the crew – we’re such a tight-knit bunch here that it’s just a great place to be.”
Paramedic Liv Thornton joined Sara at age 13, inspired by her father who was also a member. “It’s so rewarding – you’re with a massive group of people that are always willing to help each other out, and you know you can call on them for anything,” she said. “But also you know that you’re giving back to the community that’s helped you as well.”
The crews are regularly called out to search for vulnerable missing people, and Thornton said the team always checks on each other following a “rough call”. “When you know that someone’s affected, maybe more so because the missing person is similar to one of their own family members, you know you’ve got to reach out to make sure they’re okay,” she added. “I think it’s the tight-knit community we have that just really helps.”
The Sharpness station’s growth mirrors a broader trend: inland waterway rescues have become increasingly critical as more people use canals, rivers and docks for recreation, and as flooding events become more frequent. Unlike coastal stations, inland teams often deal with fast-moving currents, locks, weirs and the challenge of reaching remote stretches of water accessible only by narrow paths.
Over four decades, the station has evolved from basic kit to modern inflatable boats, thermal imaging drones and night-vision equipment, enabling year-round operations. Local officials have praised Sara’s volunteers for stepping in where statutory emergency services have limited capacity on the water.
The anniversary comes at a time when lifeboat charities across the UK report rising call‑out numbers and increasing reliance on volunteer crews. Sara’s leaders say they are planning to recruit more volunteers and upgrade equipment as the demand for inland rescue shows no sign of slowing.
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