AFTER around ten years of fundraising, the Severn Area Rescue Association will reveal its much-needed new lifeboat next month.

The £32,000 vessel, funded by donations from local councils, charities, community foundations and businesses, will make its first trips following the launch on March 12.

It will serve Newport, Cardiff, Avonmouth, Chepstow & Gloucester areas of the Severn Estuary.

Mervyn Fleming, Chairman of SARA Beachley Lifeboat & Rescue Station, said the boat will replace a 15-year-old one they use at present.

He said: "We have three lifeboats for different conditions and needed a new one. They usually have a life of five years."

A fundraising campaign, backed by the Argus' sister paper The Free Press, helped step up the fundraising over the last 12 months.

The 4.9 metre boat will meet the very latest specifications for UK Inshore Lifeboats (ILB), custom-built by Delta UK.

In emergencies it may be called upon by the coast guard, police, ambulance and fire services to provide specialist rescue skills.

The boat, named “Swift and bold” after the motto of the 1st Battalion The Rifles who have supported the rescue station, will arrive in Gwent a few days before the launch.

A dedication service will be held at the old ferry slipway, Beachley, at 9.30am on March 12.