Five Devon lifeboat stations are to get new boats by 2030 as life-saving charity the RNLI updates its fleet.

Plymouth will be among the first stations in the country to get the new Coastal design, replacing its large Severn class boat.

Appledore, Salcombe and Torbay will get new Shannon class all-weather boats.

Ilfracombe will get a new Atlantic 85 Mk3 craft, a high-speed rigid inflatable, to replace its current, larger Shannon class boat.

The RNLI says its data shows that the majority of incidents it responds to are now within reach of an inshore lifeboat. Between 2017 and 2025, 98 per cent of the charity’s lifeboat response was within 10 nautical miles of the shore.

Now it has reviewed its fleet and drawn up a strategy for the next 15 years, which includes the introduction of the new Coastal class in 2028.

Plymouth will get its Coastal class boat in 2030. The RNLI says the new model is more sustainable and cost-effective. It has a watertight wheelhouse and is self-righting. It is designed to operate up to 10 nautical miles offshore but can stretch its range to 25.

Torbay’s Shannon-class boat – propelled by water jets instead of propellers – will arrive in 2029. The RNLI says the Shannon is its most agile and manoeuvrable all-weather lifeboat. It carries a crew of six compared to the bay’s current Severn class boat which carries seven.

The charity says it is confident the Shannon class lifeboat is the most suitable asset for the types of services the Torbay volunteer crew attends, and will work alongside the station’s inshore lifeboat to provide lifesaving cover.

Chief executive Peter Sparkes said: “The RNLI has constantly evolved and improved our service over 202 years. We make evidence-based decisions and strive to ensure that we have the right lifeboats in the right places.

“We are responding to the changing nature of lifesaving at sea by adapting our service to ensure it is fit for our nations’ future needs.”

And, he added: “What will never change is our charity’s purpose, to save lives at sea and our mission, to save every one.”

Volunteers manning RNLI boats and lifeboat stations have recently been criticised by some members of anti-immigration groups and far-right political organisations for rescuing migrants attempting to cross the Channel.

The activists argue that by rescuing individuals from small, unseaworthy boats, the RNLI is inadvertently acting as an informal taxi service.

After the criticism escalated into abuse of RNLI volunteers Mr Sparkes said: “Recent events have generated deliberate misinformation and a misunderstanding about the RNLI and sadly, as a result, some of our volunteers and staff have been the subject of online and, in the worst cases, physical abuse.

“The RNLI’s people represent the very best in our society. They selflessly give up their time to keep others safe, yet they and their families are being threatened by those who would hide behind a balaclava or a keyboard.

“This charity will continue to save lives at sea all around the UK and Ireland – as we always have and always will.”