A LIFEBOAT which was based in Lyme Regis for 15 years is now rescuing sailors in Finland.

Martti Pulkkinen, a volunteer with the Finnish Lifeboat Association, wrote to a Lyme Regis RNLI volunteer after discovering that the new lifeboat at his station in Kuopio, eastern Finland, was once used as the Pearl of Dorset in Lyme Bay.

Martti emailed volunteer press officer Richard Horobin and revealed that the Pearl of Dorset does not yet have a new name, but has already been involved in 15 call outs.

Richard said: "Our crew were fascinated to hear about the fate of Pearl of Dorset.

"She was very close to their hearts. Martti asked a lot of questions about the boat's history, so I told him how the money to provide the vessel was donated by local people and how the crew paraded her around the town just before she left us in 2012.

"I also sent him a number of photographs, and we hope we can forge links with out Finnish counterparts. He said he was going to translate all the information for his crew."

Kuopio is a lakeland harbour town and the largest lake district in Europe.

A spokesperson from the RNLI headquarters in Poole, said: "We have had a working relationship with the Finnish Lifeboat Association for some time with several boat sales completed, including Pearl of Dorset."