Building work will begin at St Ives RNLI this month to prepare the station for its new state-of-the-art Shannon class lifeboat, which is due to arrive later this year.

The Shannon is expected on station in the autumn but some adaptations are required to the boathouse in order to accommodate the new lifeboat.

The work includes widening the main doors to the boathouse, installing a new fuel tank and a tank to wash down the lifeboat, and updating the crew changing facilities. In addition to the adaptation works, the RNLI is taking the opportunity to repair the seaward facing wall of the station, which has previously suffered water ingress.

Work is due to begin at the end of April and will last approximately 12 weeks.

During the building works, the station remains operational. The all-weather lifeboat will be positioned on the slipway for the duration of the work and the inshore lifeboat will remain in its separate boat hall.

Temporary buildings have been erected on the slipway for station personnel to work from, and for kit and other essential equipment to be stored so the crew are ready in the event of a call out.

Derek Hall, St Ives RNLI lifeboat operations manager, said: "It’s a very exciting time for us at St Ives RNLI as the arrival of our Shannon gets closer and becomes more real. Our lifeboat station has served us extremely well over the years but several adaptations are needed to make sure it is suitable to house the next generation of lifeboat and see our station into the future, which is why this work is taking place.

"We’re very grateful of the support the community has shown St Ives RNLI and hope the town will bear with us for a short time while the work is being carried out. Once complete, our station will be ready to receive the first and only Shannon lifeboat in Cornwall, and we hope the whole town will get involved in this momentous occasion."

The alteration work means the station will be closed to the public, but the shop will remain open as usual.