SEVEN lifeboatmen have been honoured for their bravery.

Four members of the crew at Whitby, second coxswain John Pearson, mechanic Glenn Goodberry, and crew members Stephen Boocock and Phil Webster, have been commended by the RNLI for helping to save the lives of three anglers.

An alarm was raised after two of the crew spotted a small fishing boat drifting out to sea in rough conditions in January after its outboard motor failed.

The lifeboat went alongside the stricken vessel, which was surging out of control in heavy seas, and took the men on board.

Mr Goodberry said conditions were grim. "The fishing boat nearly capsized in the harbour entrance," he said.

Meanwhile, crewman Carl Welham has been awarded the RSPCA's bronze medal for jumping into a rough sea at Sandsend, near Whitby, to rescue a dog which jumped over the sea wall, while chasing seagulls, and survived a 55-metre fall.

Two other crewmen, Howard Fields and Eric Ambler, received certificates acknowledging their part in the rescue when they manned the inshore lifeboat, taking it to within 50 metres of the cliff bottom in rough seas to save the dog.