A call has been made on the government to acknowledge calls from the public to save Great Yarmouth coastguard station.

Norfolk and Suffolk MEP Richard Howitt has helped lead the campaign against coastguard closures around the British coast - including Great Yarmouth station in his own constituency.

And he says today's Government final decision will be a test of whether the consultation has been genuine or fake.

The Labour MEP who helped organise the 9,000-strong 'Coastguard SOS' petition against the closures says the campaigners have won the argument and the Government should be forced into a U-turn.

Mr Howitt said: 'On current plans the Government would be leaving no coastguard at all on the East Anglian coast, with emergencies dealt with from as far away as Humberside, Dover or Southampton.

'This has been about saving a relatively small amount of money or about saving lives.

'The public have given their answer and surely the Government cannot deny it?'

Last week Richard Howitt MEP made 'a last throw of the dice' by making further representations that the planned closures would breach EU rules on maritime safety and coastal protection.