Falmouth's all-weather lifeboat had to be moved recently to allow refurbishment of its pontoon to take place.

The work is expected to last for seven weeks and in the meantime the Severn class lifeboat Richard Cox Scott will be re-stationed at Port Pendennis Marina.

Described as essential work, the refurbishment includes a complete revamp for the pontoon, its gangway, the pontoon piles and the services that feed it.

The project will involve local businesses and Falmouth Divers Ltd are the principal contractors.

Adam Littlejohn, RNLI shoreworks manager for the South West, said: "The RNLI originally placed a pontoon at the Falmouth lifeboat station back in 1995 and the current one has been in place since 2005.

"It’s in need of refurbishment and will be lifted out of the water by A&P Falmouth before being re-painted by Blast Clean and Coatings Limited at Longdowns.

"We’ll also be doing some dredging at the site to keep the berth at a suitable depth for the lifeboat to manoeuvre at all states of the tide.

"The material dredged up will then be taken for land use elsewhere in Cornwall."

A number of local companies had stepped in to help keep the costs to the charity down, Mr Littlejohn said, and particular thanks were reserved for Port Pendennis Marina.

He added: "The temporary location for the all-weather lifeboat will not affect operational response times as the crew volunteers will head straight to the marina in the case of an emergency call out and their kit will be kept onboard the lifeboat in readiness."

The estimated time of completion for the work is Friday, May 31.

Falmouth's Atlantic 75 inshore lifeboat Eve Pank will not be affected and will still be based at the lifeboat station, launching down the slipway.