A LLANDUDNO lifeboatman who has saved several dozen lives and rescued hundreds more, is to concentrate on his role as cox'n of the town's all weather boat.

He has dropped his other role as helmsman of the small inshore boat.

Graham Heritage has served in the RNLI for 30 years. During his service he has been responsible for rescuing hundreds of people and saving several dozen lives.

It is a move which has a tinge of nostalgia for Graham, who said: “I look back fondly on my time in the smaller lifeboats.

“When I first served in the inshore boat in the late 1980’s, we could launch on service more quickly and to reach casualties far more speedily than the all weather lifeboats of the day. I will continue in the service as cox’n of the all weather lifeboat, and I'll still see plenty of the inshore lifeboat at sea as it often works closely with the larger lifeboat, particularly during searches.”

Graham’s father, Dennis, was a member of the lifeboat crew for many years and Graham’s middle son, Luke, is now both a helmsman of the Inshore lifeboat and an Assistant Mechanic of the all-weather lifeboat, carrying on a family tradition.