Brummies urged to dig deep

Aug 28 2007 By Anna jeys, Birmingham Mail

GENEROUS Brummies have now raised £320,000 for a new lifeboat in Wales but charity chiefs need more to reach their target.

The people of Birmingham are being asked to dig deep to reach £1 million for a new Tamar lifeboat to be stationed at Angle, in Wales.

The lifeboat, which can carry up to 100 passengers and travel much faster than the existing boat, is expected to arrive in 2008.

The appeal, backed by the Birmingham Mail, was launched in January last year and the Royal National Lifeboat Institution hoped to raise the money within two years.

The boat, which contains hi-tech equipment including remote controlled computers, will enable the crew to save more lives at sea and deal with major disaster off the Welsh Coast.

Landlocked Brummies have funded more than 50 lifeboats for the RNLI in the past and the charity has rescued 467 people from the West Midlands in the last ten years.

The RNLI will be putting up the extra £1.5 million to cover the cost of the boat.

It held a fundraising week of events in the city in July and raised £7,000 towards the target.

June Addison, fundraising manager for the RNLI, said: "The support given to the RNLI by people from the Midlands never ceases to amaze.

"Despite living so far away from the coast, they realise they too may one day have the misfortune to get into trouble when visiting the seaside and have to call upon our volunteer crews.

"Despite our recent successes, there is still a long way to go and I would like to appeal to Midlanders to continue their generosity and help ensure the volunteer crew at Angle are able to take delivery of the new, faster, bigger and technologically advanced Tamar."

f=XZapfDingbats no For further information, visit www.tamar4angle.org.uk or contact June on 07920 087538.

f=XZapfDingbatsno FAST OPERATOR... the sophisticated Tamar lifeboat in action and (below) 11-year-old Victoria Clare helps the fundraising.

f=XClearfaceGothicLH-Bold APPEAL: oFamilies thanked for support Ð but warned that extra money is needed