THE ON-GOING dispute between dismissed members of New Brighton lifeboat crew and management  which has led to the temporary closure of the station has intensified.

The service was suspended last Thursday after a row between the RNLI and volunteers.

The institute claims the "serious nature of the situation at New Brighton, in particular behavioural issues" meant it was felt necessary to ask all crew to commit in writing to standards required of all volunteers.

"Difficulties at the lifeboat station began when some crew were unwilling to accept an RNLI training regime similar to those which have been running at other lifeboat stations around the coast for several years.

"This is not standard practice but we believe the exceptional situation at New Brighton warranted this measure," it said.

But a statement released today on behalf of the 12 crew members involved said the RNLI has resorted to “sacking the crew and closing the station” to deal with the ongoing dispute.

It said: "Firstly we need to make the public aware that our first concern has always been the safety of the public - that is why we gave our time, dedication and passion to the RNLI.

"We would go to sea right now despite the way we have been treated if we were called upon.

"We are proud of our station which has been in existence since 1863 and we were proud to be part of the RNLI.

"Our dispute is with individuals within that organisation who do not seem to care about our issues.

"Recently the crew were asked to sign a form that most had signed when they joined.

"No other lifeboat crew around the coast were asked to sign the form. No reasonable explanation was given as to why we should sign.

"Questions were asked about it but not answered. It was hinted that it was to show commitment - which was insulting because we were all committed to saving lives at sea.

"How did the RNLI deal with the mess they created? Simple, sack the crew and close the station, hoping that the matter will just go away and be forgotten about.

"Unfortunately for them they are dealing with a group who are passionate about saving lives at sea and do not want the public to be put at risk.

"The RNLI state that public safety will not be affected by the closure of New Brighton Lifeboat Station, our nearest station is Hoylake, who are a fantastic crew with a state-of-the-art boat, however, they cannot get around the coast quick enough in an emergency."

In response the RNLI said it expects all lifeboat crew to abide by its code of conduct and to ensure their skills and training are kept up to date.

A statement from the organisation said: "Where this is not the case, particularly where negative behaviour is involved, the RNLI will not hesitate to intervene and help crew become a coherent, safe and efficient team.

"The RNLI strives to create a culture within lifeboat stations where crew members can trust each other, and are able to progress and develop into senior roles.

"We are working with the remaining New Brighton RNLI crew and management team to make sure the lifeboat returns to service as soon as possible.

"They want to get back to ‘business as usual’ and we will be giving them our full support in the coming weeks as they work towards this.

"Some former New Brighton lifeboat volunteers are clearly unhappy but they do not represent the views of the rest of the crew, who are keen to move forward with the RNLI to provide a first rate lifesaving service in the area.

"We are hoping to resume the lifeboat service within a matter of weeks, and will continue to work with the volunteers at New Brighton to ensure the crews are competently trained and have the right numbers of people to provide an effective service in the future."