ROBOTS were the theme of the day as scouts in Charmouth came up with a new way of fundraising for charity.

Enterprising beavers, cubs and scouts from 1st Charmouth constructed and programmed the robots on Easter Saturday raising a total of £180 for a charity that supports families following a natural disaster.

Members of the Lyme Regis Rotary Club gave the scout group a presentation on water survival boxes pre-packed with all the essential items families need to prepare clean water, cook food and build rudimentary shelters after a natural disaster.

The scouts were so impressed by the concept that they pledged to raise enough money to pay for a water survival box by the end of April.

They then came up with the idea or organising a fundraising initiative around robots to raise the money.

Scout leader Kevin Payne said: “This was a great way to achieve three objectives; building the robots enabled the cubs and scouts to complete part of their creative challenges.

“Organising the display and collection allowed them to complete their global challenges, but more importantly, the project meant the scout group fulfilled its pledge to raise the £150 needed to pay for its own water survival box.”

Shoppers who headed to Morgans newsagents in Charmouth to buy their morning papers were asked to vote for the best looking ‘robotic gardener’ and make a donation towards the initiative.

In total, there were over 25 robots to choose from. ‘Jimey’ was judged to be the best cub entrant, with the ‘garden terminator’ chosen as the best scout classic robot.

There was also a special prize for robots Bill and Ben, the only robots not to be covered in silver foil.