THE NUMBER of emergencies dealt with by Solent Coastguard reached a record high last year, new figures have revealed.

Rescue chiefs reported a ten per cent increase in marine emergencies dealt with by crews in 2000. The rescue centre headquarters at Lee-on-Solent received 100 cases more than in the previous year.

District controller Bob Woodwark said: "The number of incidents has increased over the past year, partly due to the requirement of merchant vessels to report as soon as a problem has developed. Usually they are not able to resolve the problem and resume their passage, and, if not, we are able to take early positive action to prevent the situation from getting worse."

Annette McHugh, deputy watch manager, said more yachts than ever were assisted last year with an increase of 37 on 1999.

Mrs McHugh said: "I think people are getting more affluent now so more people are buying vessels and going out on them."

She added that instances of machinery failure had also increased in the past 12 months.

"We try to do an awareness campaign every year, normally from March, but we are still getting a lot of people going out to sea that have not fully checked their vessels.

Meanwhile more than 300 people were rescued last year by the volunteers of Gosport and Fareham Inshore Rescue Service (GAFIRS).

And the the bravery and the value of the service will be illustrated when one of the rescuers is awarded a national accolade for saving the life of a diver.

Bob Needham, 42, part of GAFIRS emergency dive rescue team, is to be presented with a Royal Humane Society medal at a ceremony this month for rescuing a near-dead diver from a harbour bottom and carrying out life-saving first aid.

Ken Pink, lifeboat senior coxswain, said: "This has been a successful year for us in terms of how many people we have helped. There are many people, up to 300, who could owe their well-being to us. ''

Mr Needham will be honoured for saving leisure diver Stephen Nodding who was wreck-diving 27 feet down at the bottom of a harbour when he lost his breathing mouthpiece and got into difficulties.

Mr Needham, who was acting as a diving instructor and safety diver, brought the unconscious man to the surface.

The casualty was not breathing, so Mr Needham resuscitated him in the water and once in a rescue boat gave him emergency chest massage to get his heart moving. He kept the man alive until paramedics arrived.