THIEVES could have endangered lives by stealing essential equipment from a lifeboat station in East Yorkshire.
Members of Withernsea Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI) were shocked when equipment was stolen from their lifeboat station.
Thieves broke into the charity's station in South Promenade between noon on Sunday and 12.40pm on Monday, smashing through a door panel.
They stole specialist night- vision binoculars, crew helmet torches, a laptop and a camcorder.
Martin Woodhouse, lifeboat operations manager at Withernsea RNLI, said: "We were devastated to discover the thefts and I can't comprehend why anyone would want to target our lifesaving service.
"We'll now be looking at providing additional security at our lifeboat station, as well as replacing the stolen items.
"The RNLI depends on public donations to pay for vital equipment and it's exasperating that we'll have to rely on the generosity of the public to replace what's been taken and to repair the damage."
Steve Medcalf, a volunteer helmsman, described the theft and the loss of the equipment as "heartbreaking".
He said: "It is bad enough to break into any building and steal but to do it from a charity that works on the goodwill of volunteers and that helps save lives is unthinkable."
The majority of the stolen equipment was used for training purposes.
The crew will now be forced to use vitals funds to replace it.
