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Geoff Dawe, Coxwain at SARA in Sharpness with Jonathan Leigh of the Berkeley Community Trust

THE donations keep coming but money is still needed to keep the River Severn coastline safe.

The Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) has been given £500 from the Berkeley Community Trust.

The money will go toward SARA's new boathouse project at Sharpness, which is vital for a quick launch when the crew is called out but more money is needed.

It is estimated the new boathouse will coat £20,000 and so far only £11,000 has been raised.

Jonathan Leigh, chairman of the Berkeley Community Trust, said: "We decided to support SARA because they are a local organisation who were looking for funding for their new slipway and boathouse.

"We felt they were a good worthwhile organisation who offer a vital service to the local Berkeley community."

Geoff Dawe, SARA Sharpness Lifeboat Station chairman, said: "The thing about this donation from the trust is it is gratifying to get donations from local sources and local people. An organisation such as ours relies heavily on this sort of support."

The Sharpness crew receive 30 call outs a year on average and have responded to 11 calls so far this year, including one last week when they were involved in retrieving a body from the River Severn.

SARA recently built a new slipway at Sharpness to make the launch of rescue boats easier, but a new boathouse is now needed.

Mr Dawe said: "The boathouse is imperative to the operation of the new slipway, which provides a much, much quicker launch of our vessels than the old crane.

"Primarily we are lifeboat offshore rescue, but we do have inland capabilities and last year's Tewkesbury floods demonstrated that.

"This inland function is why are new boathouse is so important. Our lifeboat can be stored in the new boathouse nearer the slipway and the existing boathouse can be used as a dedicated inland response unit."

To make a donation visit the SARA website at www.sara-rescue.org.uk.

3:07pm Friday 9th May 2008

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