Caister lifeboat in Norfolk is trialling the use of drones to help with sea searches

The crew of Caister lifeboat in Norfolk are trialling a set of drones to help them search the waters during rescue operations.

See Kate Prout's report from onboard the lifeboat here

The drones use Direct Line's Fleetlights prototype technology and are fitted with lights and cameras which feed live video footage back to screens on the boat. They launch from the front of the boat and perform an automatic box search around it.It gives the lifeboat crew a better view of the water, and helps them find a person more quickly.

The drones are still in the trial period and need to be approved by the Civil Aviation Authority