A NEW lifeboat for the Broads was officially named during a ceremony at the weekend. The �31,000 lifeboat called the Jean Ryall has been handed to the South Broads lifeboat station in Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft, and replaces the 12-year-old vessel Lord Kitchener.

A NEW lifeboat for the Broads was officially named during a ceremony at the weekend.

The �31,000 lifeboat called the Jean Ryall has been handed to the South Broads lifeboat station in Oulton Broad, near Lowestoft, and replaces the 12-year-old vessel Lord Kitchener.

The new inshore lifeboat was donated in a bequest by Sydney Ryall in memory of his wife and was named by Heather Hampton, former owner of Hampton Boats in Oulton Broad.

The Jean Ryall is powered by a 50hp outboard motor, making it more responsive and able to tow larger vessels and reach emergencies faster and further from the station.

The vessel was delivered in April and has been launched on service five times.

Tony Calver, chairman of the South Broads RNLI, opened the proceedings at the naming ceremony on Saturday, welcoming colleagues and guests, before Andrew Ashton, the RNLI's regional divisional inspector of lifeboats, handed the new vessel to the lifeboat station.

Keith Wood, the South Broads lifeboat operations manager, officially accepted the vessel on behalf of the lifeboat station.

He said: “It is with great pleasure that we as a station accept this boat. Our station has proved since its setting up to be a major facility that all of the emergency services and the public can call upon.

“This boat will now enable us to continue that service and improve on it, allowing us a greater flexibility and coverage than we previously were capable of. We thank the donors for the donation that made this possible.”

More than 100 people watched a brief demonstration of the lifeboat on Oulton Broad.

The South Broads lifeboat station opened in July 2001 and is currently based in temporary accommodation in Caldecott Road, Oulton Broad. The station covers around 100 square miles of inland waterways, using two small inflatable rescue vessels and a four-wheel drive vehicle.