THE volunteer crew at Great Yarmouth and Gorleston RNLI lifeboat station have had a busy summer, new figures out this week have revealed.

Between June 1 and August 31 the station’s all-weather lifeboat and inshore lifeboat were called out 17 times.

Over the same period last summer the crew was called out only 12 times.

This year’s figures show the crew was involved in the longest call-out among East Anglia’s RNLI stations as they spent 12 hours attending to a tug with a fouled propeller.

The RNLI figues also show how Happisburgh lifeboat station was called out 18 times over the summer, when it was only needed three times in the summer of 2011.

This summer’s figures for Happisburgh included a dramatic rescue at Sea Palling when the volunteer crew rescued a man who was trapped by ropes in the water by boat near a reef. The crew entered the water and cut the man free.

The figures also show the lifeboat stations at Cromer and Hunstanton had an increase in call-outs, while those at Wells and Sheringham saw a fall. Nationally between June 1 and August 31 there were 3,575 RNLI call-outs, a drop on 2011’s figures of 3,633.

Andrew Ashton, RNLI divisional inspector for the east, said: ‘Once again our volunteer crews have given their time and commitment to saving lives at sea around the Norfolk coast this summer.