Huggy

A volunteer crewman has become one of the youngest coxswains in Scarborough RNLI’s 212-year history.
Paul Huggins, 33, completed an intensive training programme which qualified him as a coxswain on the all-weather lifeboat.
Known to friends as Huggy, Paul, a self-employed electrician, joined the RNLI 12 years ago.
Over the last two years, he has worked hard to achieve his new position, passing rigorous and intense assessments by an inspector from the RNLI’s northern division.
The lifeboat station now has five coxswains. The team is led by Tom Clark, whose deputy, known as the second coxswain, is Wave Crookes. Paul is one of three deputy second coxswains, along with Dave Jackson and Lee Marton.
Wave, who was instrumental in Paul’s training, paid tribute to his colleague.
“Paul is a long-standing, popular member of the crew who has previously held the positions of inshore lifeboat helmsman and assistant all-weather lifeboat mechanic.
“It's always good to be able to welcome a newly-qualified coxswain to the team and Paul's success once again demonstrates what a capable bunch of volunteers we are lucky enough to have at Scarborough RNLI,” said Wave.
“We all look forward to working with him out on the water now that his L-plates have been removed.”
* Ian Firman was 23 or 24 when he was appointed station coxswain in 1983.