Two lifeboat crewmen were sacked and four are said to have quit in a row over naked women on mugs. The men, all unpaid volunteers, swapped various “jokey” designs as Secret Santa gifts. Whitby RNLI said ‘two volunteers have been stood down’ and ‘others have resigned’ after a probe into the ‘production of inappropriate material of a sexual nature and social media activity.’



One [of the mugs] featured a photo of a nude woman with the head of one crewman superimposed on top. A female boss visited the station and found the mugs in a cupboard. Sources say the crew were told to destroy them and told the matter would go no further.



But in March the men were told the mugs were a “safeguarding breach” because they might be seen by visiting school pupils. They faced disciplinary hearings, which also looked into messages in a WhatsApp group. Friends say trainee Joe Winspear, 26, and crewman Ben Laws were dismissed by phone on Tuesday.