Southport lifeboat quad bike theft 'puts lives at risk' Published duration 28 December 2014

media caption 'A selfish act by thieves'

Thieves who broke into a lifeboat headquarters and stole two quad bikes have put lives at risk, said a lifeboat charity.

Southport Offshore Rescue Trust said the break-in happened overnight on 26-27 December at the Lifeboat House, Esplanade, Southport.

The charity said the bikes are used in more than half of their callouts and carry essential life-saving equipment.

They had just been bought and will cost £15,000 to replace, the charity said.

'Saved many lives'

The bikes were insured, the charity said, but said it would be some time before they can be replaced.

The trust said in a statement: "Our quads are used on over 50% of the callouts we attend and have saved many lives along our coast.

"The quads allow our volunteers to access difficult areas of the beach quickly and safely whilst carrying important life-saving equipment such as first-aid kits, mud rescue equipment and stretchers."

The charity said: "We can only hope that our quads are not needed during this time and that nobody gets hurt because of this selfish act."

No other equipment was taken in the burglary, the charity added.