Dave Corke's first launch as lifeboat coxswain could be described as a baptism of fire - literally.

He remembers how, in 1991, he and his RNLI crew were summoned from exercises to an emergency call south of Newhaven.

They got within five miles of a blazing vessel to find an exclusion zone had been thrown around it because it was crammed with potentially deadly explosives.

Mr Corke, 55, said: "It was some start to being a coxswain."

Eventually, the fire was put out before it reached the explosives but Mr Corke said: "It was close. There was the potential for something terrible to happen."

It was one of 722 launches Mr Corke has been involved with since he became a crew member on the Eastbourne inshore lifeboat in 1973.

He worked his way up to crew member on the all-weather lifeboat before becoming second coxswain in 1984 and eventually coxswain in 1991.

He has seen many changes, the most notable being in 1993 when the Eastbourne RNLI moved to Sovereign harbour to take up its mooring berth.

It was as a result of the harbour opening that RNLI management allocated a £640,000 Mersey Class lifeboat to Eastbourne.

Mr Corke said most of the advances in his time as a lifeboatman had been technological, which had led to quicker and more efficient responses to emergencies.

He said: "When I first started we had just a chart and a medium frequency radio to help us.

"We had no radar and very little in the way of technology, which was perhaps why there were so many collisions at sea.

"Now, however, it is a completely different story. The boats are far more superior with full radar systems and very impressive lifesaving equipment."

Mr Corke will soon call time on a 31-year career which has led to a long service badge, seven letters of recognition and the heart-warming thought that his actions have helped save 212 lives.

His last exercise as coxswain was an emotional one, with Eastbourne Mayor David Stevens joining him and his crew on the two-hour journey.

Mr Corke, of Hunloke Avenue, Eastbourne, said: "It has been fantastic to be a part of an organisation that has been the business at sea.

"The guys I've worked with have been absolutely fantastic.

"There has always been a strong bond between us off the shore but as soon as we get a call it gets deadly serious.

"Naturally I'm going to miss everyone but I will certainly ensure my ghost will for ever accompany them on the boat."

Mr Corke intends to spend his time relaxing in between working part-time as a delivery driver for Cavendish Bakery in Cavendish Place, Eastbourne.

He also plans to spend more time with his two stepsons and wife Jean, whom he has been with for 15 years.

He said: "It has been an enormously satisfying career but the lifeboat is not all about one person.

"It's about being a team and those I've worked with over all these years have been fantastic."

Mr Corke is succeeded by Mark Sawyer, who has been second coxswain for two years and with the lifeboat for ten years.