A total of 25 volunteers walked out following the dismissal of coxswain Andy Hibbs, who has served for 24 years, following breaches of a code of conduct.
Mr Hibbs appealed against his sacking and on Wednesday was invited back to his role by RNLI bosses. The crew met on Wednesday night and yesterday announced they would return on Monday ‘to once again provide the service that we love’.
The RNLI have refused to comment on the details of Mr Hibbs’s sacking, which they said would have been ‘ordinarily justified’ had the charity not contributed to a breakdown in relations beforehand.
Mr Hibbs claims that months before his sacking he was subject to an investigation for allegedly launching the lifeboat without authorisation. He was found not guilty and told the matter would be dropped.
He said there was ‘no chance’ he was going to drop matters and then sent emails to the RNLI.
Mr Hibbs claims that this is what amounted to his breach of the code of conduct and was the reason he was sacked.
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