Lyme and Charmouth RNLI Guild raises £54,678

Lyme Regis lifeboat (Image: Archant)

Lyme Regis and Charmouth RNLI Guild – the local fundraising branch of the charity – raised a thumping £54,678 last year.

Treasurer Brian Cursley revealed the figure at the annual meeting last week.

Lifeboat Week alone raised more than £25,000 even without the RAF Red Arrows and the Falcons parachute team which both cancelled because of the weather.

This year there will be no displays by the RAF teams during the week, but the Red Arrows are performing at Lyme two days before - on July 21.

Lifeboat Operations Manager Nick Marks told the meeting that the volunteer crews answered 26 emergency calls last year and almost half were to people walking along the coast, cut off by the tide or stuck in mud.

“A factor here is almost certainly the poor signage on beaches to the east and west of Lyme Regis and at Charmouth,” he said.

Guest speaker was Alice Higgins, RNLI Lifeguard Supervisor for Weymouth and West Dorset. She said there was close co-operation between the lifeguards, coastguards and the lifeboat crews and joint exercises would continue. There will be 25 lifeguards, aged 18 and upwards, on duty in the region throughout the summer.

Krys Lavery, team leader for volunteers in the lifeboat shop, said she was looking forward to a bumper year. Last month the Lyme Regis shop was lying 12th in the ‘league table’ of RNLI outlets.

Two long serving members of the guild are standing down, Carys Lowe, secretary for 15 years, and Janet Clayton, membership secretary and a committee member for nine years.

Carys Lowe said that during her 15 years as secretary she had attended 169 lifeboat-related meetings, and worked in the lifeboat shop, acted as minute secretary and Lifeboat week event organiser.

She added: “The worst times have been the rainy event days, but the best were the success of Lifeboat Week and the team work of the committee and the crew.”