Volunteers Ben Laws and Joe Winspear were both sacked from the RNLI (Picture: RNLI/Ceri Oakes)

Two lifeboatmen have been fired from the RNLI and four others have walked out in protest in a row over naked women on mugs, it has been claimed.

Ben Laws, who has 15 years of experience volunteering for the charity, and colleague Joe Winspear were allegedly sacked over the phone on Tuesday.

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It is believed a senior female colleague found the mugs at their HQ in Whitby, North Yorkshire and then reported them.

They are said to have given the mugs to each other as secret Santa presents and one had Mr Winspear’s head superimposed on a naked woman’s body.




Initially they were told to remove the mugs and that they would not face any further action.

However, they were then told they would have to go through a disciplinary hearing which involved looking through their WhatsApp messages.

Martyn Cairns (top left), Steve Boocock (top right), Neil Cook (bottom left) and Simon Rhodes (bottom right) all quit in protest (Picture: RNLI/Ceri Oakes)

They were then told they could no longer work at the station in Whitby because the mugs could have been found by schoolchildren, which posed a ‘safeguarding risk’, according to the Sun.

This sparked resignations from four of their colleagues in protest, including navigator Steve Boocock, helmsman Martyn Cairns and trainees Neil Cook and Simon Rhodes.

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A source told the paper that Mr Laws has dedicated 15 years of his life to helping to save lives and recover bodies from the water.

They criticised the decision, calling it ‘overkill’ and said the men deserve ‘a medal…not marching orders’.

A spokesperson for RNLI told the BBC: ‘We are aware of speculation about the issue on social media but we want to stress that this was not a trivial matter.’

Mr Laws has dedicated 15 years of his life to helping to save lives and recover bodies from the water in Whitby (Picture: Getty Images)

‘The lifeboat station should be an environment where people can expect to be treated with dignity and respect.

‘We cannot allow bullying, harassment or discrimination in what should be a safe and inclusive environment and there will be serious consequences for anybody who demonstrates this behaviour within the RNLI.

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‘Our dedicated volunteers represent the values and principles of our organisation and we will not allow any behaviour that brings the work of the RNLI and our people into disrepute.’

A petition has since been started to reinstate the men back in their roles.

The colleagues are reportedly planning to appeal the sackings.

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