LIVES could be lost if coastguard services in Southend are cut back.

That is the message from worried residents and lifeboat volunteers after the Government revealed it is considering axing control centres across the country to slash costs.

Fears surround the Ness Road station, Shoebury, and the station in Walton-on-the-Naze, which co-ordinates coastguard call-outs in Southend and Canvey.

Rob Fossett, a former Royal National Lifeboat Institution volunteer, said any cuts may mean more deaths at sea.

He said: “The work the coastguard does is invaluable. It will not be as safe without them and I would not be surprised if people lost their lives because of it.

“The coastguard co-ordinates all of the elements of a search-and-rescue mission and without their expertise the job would be practically impossible.”

The Department for Transport is expected to announce later this week that eight out of 19 control centres will close.

Ministers have been told to slash their spending by 15 per cent over the next four years and believe shutting the stations will modernise the service, as well as saving money.

The service could also lose 250 jobs in order to shave £7.5 million a year from its budget.

West Shoebury councillor Tony Cox vowed to fight for the future of the Ness Road station.

He said: “It is obviously hard to say which areas are more deserving of cuts, but I am personally aware of the fantastic work of the coastguard there.

“Should it be threatened, I would do everything I can to fight it.”