THE whole of Burnham is being urged to help in raising vital cash to go towards the cost of a new lifeboat.

Volunteers have launched an appeal to get the public involved in the drive to raise £41,000 before the station’s current D class inshore lifeboat is retired next year.

Burnham RNLI currently operates two lifeboats from the station in Pier Street but the smaller D class boat is set to be taken out of service next summer.

This means that fundraisers will be facing an uphill struggle to raise sufficient funds to replace it. Last week the public were invited to meet crew members and have a look around the station in Pier Street before both boats were launched in front of the crowds gathered on the beach.

Burnham RNLI spokesperson Mike Lang said: “The launch of the fundraising appeal went very well.

“We weren’t sure what to expect because we’ve never done anything like this before. “It’s a lot of money to raise over the next 12 months but we’re absolutely confident we’ll get there.

“Not having the funds isn’t really an option so we’re really hoping the community will get involved too to help us reach our goal.”

The current D class lifeboat, named Puffin, will come to the end of its operational life after giving 10 years of service since its arrival in 2006, and Mike has said that it’s vital that the boats are replaced every 10 years to ensure the safety of the crew members.

He continued: “The safety of our crew is paramount. “You can guarantee that these boats will be safe for 10 years but after that it becomes an issue.

“The volunteers here provide such a vital service and the D class boat is used very regularly – we had her out on rescues three times last week alone.”

Amy Caldwell, of RNLI SouthWest, said: “It will be a boat for the whole community so we’d really like to work with them to raise as much as we can.”

“Throughout the year we’ll have volunteers at events such as the Burnham Food Festival and the Bridgwater Carnival and Burnham Carnival so we’d love people to come up to us with any fundraising suggestions or any questions.”

Contact Burnham RNLI through their Facebook page with any fundraising ideas.