A TEAM of RNLI volunteers - including two nephews to crewmen who lost their lives at sea in 2004 - have sharpened their life-saving skills and learnt how deal with 25-metre waves.

Four volunteer lifeboat crewmen returned last week from hands-on training held at the RNLI’s headquarters in Poole.

Dan Griffith and Paul Williams along with Angus Massey, and Tom Allday, who are the nephews of Keith Allday and Alan Massey, undertook the charity’s intensive Crew Emergency Procedure and Sea Survival training, funded by the Lloyd’s Register Foundation.

Lifeboatmen Keith Allday and Alan Massey lost their lives in 2004 when their boat capsized in atrocious weather near Barmouth in 2004.

Dan Griffith, who works for local butcher David Jones, said: “It had always been an ambition of mine to join the RNLI, and I was delighted when this became a reality in 2015. Being part of the Barmouth crew is an honour; everyone has been so approachable it is like being part of a big family.

“The camaraderie too, is great - and the age of the whole team ranges from 17 to 50-something!

“The training course at Poole was excellent and exceeded my expectations. It was as if everything I had learnt in the past three years here at Barmouth has been put in perspective and this course brought it all together.”

The four, who all live locally, agree the course was strenuous but thoroughly enjoyable and say that giving something back to the community in such a challenging way is both exciting and rewarding.

They considered it a “privilege” to receive such excellent, confidence-boosting training and they will continue giving up their time to ensure they remain highly trained and exercise regularly with Barmouth’s Mersey Class and D Class lifeboats.

Coxswain Peter Davies, added: “Providing regular training for our crews, both in Poole and here in Barmouth, is vitally important and we are fortunate to have recruited young local people who have the potential, with the help of the first class training available to them, to make excellent crew members.”