GREAT Yarmouth's coastguard station will close as part of government plans to cut the number of centres open 24 hours a day from 18 to three.

Philip Hammond, secretary of state for transport, announced the decision to axe Yarmouth and eight other centres, including Swansea and Clyde in the House of Commons this lunchtime.

He said the reforms were part of a modernisation process aimed at redistributing resources more effectively.

There will be two 24-hour coastguard stations at Aberdeen and the Southampton/Portsmouth area, as well as a daytime station at Dover.