page_title: Burnham-on-Sea
section_title: Lifeboats and BARB
hierarchical_section_title: Burnham-on-Sea / Geography / Lifeboats and BARB
caption_attribution_description: English: Sea Rescue hovercraft Spirit of Lelania at Burnham-on-Sea, SomersetDeutsch: Luftkissenrettungsboot in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset
context_page_description: Burnham-on-Sea is a seaside town in Somerset, England, at the mouth of the River Parrett, upon Bridgwater Bay. Burnham was a small fishing village until the late 18th century when it began to grow because of its popularity as a seaside resort.
  Burnham-on-Sea forms part of the parish of Burnham-on-Sea and Highbridge and shares a town council with its neighbouring small market town of Highbridge. According to the 2011 census the population of the parish was 19,576, of which the most populous wards 'Burnham Central' and 'Burnham North'; totalled 13,601.
  Burnham-on-Sea is most famous for its low lighthouse. The now-decommissioned lighthouse was built in 1832 and is a Grade-II listed building. The lighthouse is famous for its red and white striped facade.
  The position of the town on the edge of the Somerset Levels and moors where they meet the Bristol Channel, has resulted in a history dominated by land reclamation and sea defences since Roman times. Burnham was seriously affected by the Bristol Channel floods of 1607, with the present curved concrete wall being completed in 1988.
context_section_description: There have been many shipwrecks on the Gore Sands. The first lifeboat was sent to Burnham by the Bridgwater Corporation in 1836, and a replacement boat in 1847.
  The first Royal National Lifeboat was funded by the town of Cheltenham, and arrived in 1866. The lifeboat was removed in 1930 because of the difficulty in getting a full crew, and because the launching arrangements were not suitable for a powered boat. The current Burnham-on-Sea Lifeboat Station is the base for Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) search and rescue operations. The present station was opened in 2003. It operates two inshore lifeboats (ILBs), a B Class rigid-hulled boat and an inflatable D Class.
  The Burnham-on-Sea Area Rescue Boat now known as BARB Search & Rescue was set up in 1992 to fund and operate rescue craft in the Bridgwater Bay area. BARB's boat house on the sea front was built in 1994 by the Challenge Anneka TV show. In 2002, Lelaina Hall, a five-year-old girl from Worcester, died on the mud flats before help could reach her. The outcry over her death prompted a Western Daily Press campaign to fund an inshore hovercraft.
  BARB currently operates the Spirit of Lelaina alongside her sister hovercraft the Light of Elizabeth, which is named after Lelaina's sister.
caption: BARB rescue hovercraft
  Spirit of Lelaina
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