Fears have been raised for the future of coastguard volunteers following the news they will no longer receive payments for emergency call‑outs.

The change follows a Court of Appeal ruling, which found that volunteer Coastguard Rescue Officers could be classed as workers when undertaking paid duties, prompting the Maritime and Coastguard Agency to move to a revised volunteer model, removing hourly remuneration for call‑outs.

Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire is home to many HM Coastguard teams, from Tenby to St Govans; Dale to Llansteffan - and these teams alongside other tier 1 emergency services are very active around the Welsh coast particularly during the summer months.

“This will have a massive impact to residents and visitors alike around Tenby coastline,” one member of a local Coastguard team told the Observer.

“We are not as well known as the RNLI or the Fire Service, and don’t get the exposure that is deserved.

“I have been amazed at how many “shouts” on a daily basis the teams respond to. During the height of summer I’ve attended four or five per day at times!”

Indeed only on Wednesday night (June 10) local coastguard teams were involved with the rescue of a man who had got stuck climbing a cliff after getting cut off by the tide at Freshwater East. The Coastguard rescue helicopter arrived and winched the casualty to the safety of the cliff top, where members of the Coastguard rescue team were waiting for him.

“It’s sometimes misunderstood exactly what the Coastguard Rescue Officers (CROs) do but anything from supporting the Coastguard helicopter when it’s been dispatched, to assisting the police searching for missing persons, rope rescue incidents, administering life saving first aid prior to the arrival of the ambulance service and assisting members of the general public to safety,” the team member stated.

“The worker status has recently been awarded to former volunteers, but that has been our undoing as the MCA has decided not to extend this to CROs, so the small payment which doesn’t even match the minimum wage will now be withdrawn.

“We currently receive an ‘inconvenience payment’ plus a mileage allowance as we largely respond from our home addresses with one or two going straight to a Coastguard station to pick up our ‘Blue light’ vehicle with all of our equipment.

“It’s hard for some to understand that we volunteer ourselves for the role - then get the small inconvenience payment.

“Recently we were tasked with the rescue of three climbers on the cliffs of Castlemartin. We were there for almost 6 hours undertaking a hazardous and harrowing rescue.

“One New Year’s night I spend my New Year in horrendous weather providing First Aid to a walker and getting them to hospital utilising the Coastguard helicopter, the team were there for hours with member of the fire service!

“It’s not about the money but about how the MCA has completely let us down and this will mean that members will leave which will reduce team numbers and the calls that we can respond to, therefore putting the workload onto other overstretched services. Certainly lives will be put at risk,” they added.