West Cumbria's new lifeboat has been officially launched.

More than 150 guests were invited to the naming ceremony of the Dorothy May White at the RNLI's station at the Port of Workington on Saturday.

The Whitehaven News, the Times & Star and the RNLI, supported by Sellafield Ltd, launched the Lifeboat Appeal in June 2016 to help bring the £2.1 million vessel to the area.

Thanks to your generous donations, the appeal reached £142,000.

The new Shannon class boat has been named in honour of the woman whose legacy provided £1m towards it. The Sir John Fisher Foundation also made a significant contribution.

The boat, which replaced the Sir John Fisher, after 25 years of service, was blessed by the station's chaplain the Rev Steve Axtel, minister Alistair Smeaton, of the United Church and Father Paul Swarbrick, of Our Lady and St Michael's.

Hymns were sung, accompanied by Workington Town Band.

RNLI stalwart Bob McLaughlin, chairman of the operations committee, opened proceedings with a speech.

He said: "This is a proud and satisfying moment and an opportunity to thank all the donors."

It was officially received by Tim Chittenden, Workington RNLI's operations manager, on behalf of the crew.

He said: "Your generosity has given the local coast a lifesaver for many years to come."

Over the last five years, the Workington RNLI crew has responded, on average, to 20 callouts and rescued 24 people a year.

On Saturday morning, after the Dorothy May White had been prepared for her big day, the crew were called out to a vessel carrying timber, which had got into difficulty while entering the Port of Workington.

The Dorothy May White had to be dispatched to guide the vessel into port.