TESTS on a new life saving hovercraft in Morecambe are under way this week.

The RNLI believe the new hovercraft could make the difference in rescue situations on the mud flats around Morecambe Bay and other coastal areas.

Local volunteers are now being taught how to 'fly' the new hovercraft and will test it for two weeks. A final decision on its future use will be made by the RNLI's executive in November.

One of the project's managers, Hugh Fogarty, said: "During the evaluation in Poole, we tested a standard Griffon 450TD hovercraft and tried to establish what terrain and conditions it could work with and how much training would be involved for the volunteers who would operate it.

"The hovercraft showed that it could withstand damage, was easy to prepare for launch, worked well over sand and mud and crew training was comparable to that undertaken by inshore lifeboat crews.

"Its limitations, which will be further tested during these coastal trials, include its carrying capacity, an inability to work on porous surfaces and a weather restriction to a windspeed of less than 25 knots and wave height of less than two feet."