A regional daily has paid an emotional farewell to a special part of the UK’s rich maritime history.

The Dorset Echo produced a wrap round and an eight-page supplement inside to commemorate the “end of the era” in tribute to the work of the Weymouth-based coastguards.

By the end of this week the Portland Coastguard will have completed an 80-mile move to the National Maritime Operation Centre in Fareham, Hampshire.

Five staff are leaving Portland to go to the NMOC’s new nerve centre which will see a 96-man team based there as part of a new national network by the end of 2015.

The Echo said the souvenir issue – which contained pictures of a flotilla of dozens of boats sailing past the harbourside in a final salute – was the paper’s way of saying “goodbye and thanks” to the Portland Coastguard.

Over the years the service has helped thousands of people involved in all kinds of incidents and the special edition collected messages of thanks and support from many the coastguards have rescued as well as charting the history of the ancient service which saw the Portland Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre opened in March 1988.

Stella Roper, from Weymouth, was rescued by Portland coastguards when she was 14. She collapsed and stopped breathing on a school trip, while walking near White Nothe.

She told the Newsquest title she owed Portland Maritime Rescue Co-ordination Centre her life and said the coastguards did a great job.

Stella’s mum, Eileen Roper, said: “It is a very sad day. It’s a shame it’s going because local knowledge will definitely be lost in my view and the end of an era.”

The handover of Portland Coastguard, covering Dorset and East Devon, follows swiftly on from the same fate for Solent Coastguard, which looks after Hampshire, Isle of Wight and parts of Sussex.

The changes to Her Majesty’s Coastguard will see the NMOC and 10 other Coastguard Operation Centres around the UK work together to manage the workload.