The leader of Argyll and Bute Council has condemned the UK Government’s decision to close the coastguard station at Greenock.

Councillor Dick Walsh was speaking following the announcement that both the Clyde and Forth coastguard bases were to shut.

The move will mean that the only 24 hour cover left in Scotland will be in Aberdeen, Stornoway and Shetland.  Rescues on the West Coast of Scotland will be handled from Belfast in Northern Ireland.

“I am appalled by the decision to close what is the busiest coastguard station in Scotland. The lives of people using the waters which Argyll and Bute and Scotland’s wider West Coast have to offer – both in key industries such as fishing and in the marine leisure sector - will be at greater risk as a result,” Councillor Walsh said.

 “I am now writing to the relevant Minister to request that this decision be reviewed and reversed. The UK Government  cannot be allowed to sacrifice the vital local experience and knowledge which so often proves a key factor in successful rescues at sea simply in order to save money.

“Every week, the Clyde coastguard station is responsible for saving people who are in distress and danger at sea. My fear is that, in the future, some of those lives might be lost if our local station is no longer operational.”