LIFEBOAT fundraisers in Lyme Regis will re-open the top-rated RNLI shop on the Cobb on Monday April 27.

The tiny shop, next to the lifeboat station, had a turnover of £124,000 last year and was fourth of all the RNLI outlets in the UK.

But it has been closed so far this year because of a shortage of volunteers.

Members of the Lyme Regis and Charmouth RNLI Guild were told at their annual meeting last week that more volunteers had come forward and the shop could now re-open.

Amanda Woods, the RNLI’s visitor experience manager, will now be the key contact in management of the shop.

Guild acting chairman Irene Roper said plans for this year’s Lifeboat Week were progressing well with the Red Arrows and the RAF Falcons parachute team confirmed.

Lifeboat operation manager Grahame Forshaw told the guild that the crew had answered 31 emergency calls last year.

Following the Duke of Kent’s recent visit he had received two letters of appreciation from the Duke’s private secretary and the Lord Lieutenant of Dorset.

Guest speaker was Keith Colwell, RNLI community incident reduction manager, who outlined the charity’s 'Respect the Water' campaign,which aims to increase awareness of the dangers around the coast.

One target of the campaign is to reduce drownings by 50 per cent by 2024.

Mr Colwell said that 466 lives were saved last year, but the average number of drownings in the UK was still around 400 a year.