Flag Day £5K
A rare glimpse of sunshine help boost the coffers of the Redcar RNLI lifeboat station on Saturday 28 July 2007.

After weeks of miserable weather the clouds lifted to provide a welcomed warm day for the annual Flag Day for the town's lifeboats.

By the end of the day over £5,000 had been raised by crew members, members of the ladies lifeboat guild and supporters who had travelled from Leicester to help with the fundraising effort.

The usual demonstration by lifeboats and an RAF Sea King helicopter had to be curtailed because of RAF operational needs, however the day was saved when a Dutch maritime Search and Rescue helicopter en route to the Sunderland Air Show paid an impromptu visit before continuing it's flight north.

Dave Cocks, deputy launching authority said, 'After all the weeks of poor weather we fully expected the day to be a washout.

'We didn't expect sunshine and we certainly didn't expect to raise so much money.

'It's been a fantastic show of support by the people of Redcar and we thank them for being so generous towards the RNLI.'

...first published 29 July 2007...