THE Portland search and rescue helicopter has iconic status, and rightly so.
Its reassuring presence is often felt as it clatters overhead on another task.
We all appreciate the significant role the sea plays, especially in the summer.
While the waters teem with sailors, skiers, divers and fishermen, walkers in their thousands stroll along the cliffs.
They enjoy our rich heritage, secure in the knowledge that courageous professionals are on standby only minutes away, should things go badly wrong.
A few weeks ago, two divers, caught in strong underwater currents, were washed out over the Portland race.
They were plucked from the water within minutes by the Portland helicopter.
The divers were told by the crew that the helicopter was at the end of its search pattern when they were spotted.
I think it is reasonable to conclude that had the helicopter come from Lee on Solent, some 30 minutes’ flying time away, the divers might well have been lost.
Furthermore, a back-up helicopter based at Culdrose in Cornwall would take considerably longer.
Yet, this is what is being proposed.
The news that we are to lose our Coastguard co-ordination centre in Weymouth, with the loss of some 30 jobs, is bad enough, but to see our helicopter go too is deplorable.
It may not have escaped your notice that both closures will come after the Olympics!
Portland SAR is one of the busiest areas on the South Coast, and certainly on a par with Lee on Solent.
To close it is high risk, at best.
The Prime Minister has agreed to my request to meet a delegation from South Dorset and I very much hope we can change his mind.