Wick RNLI fundraisers step out in yellow wellies for Mayday Mile challenge

A group of Wick RNLI fundraisers have decided to put their best foot forward in aid of the local lifeboat.

Throughout May they will be covering a mile a day, either walking or cycling, while each wearing a pair of eye-catching RNLI yellow wellington boots.

It is part of a Mayday Mile challenge being run nationally by the lifeboat service to help keep lifesaving crews kitted and trained to deal with emergencies. Those taking part can cover a one-mile distance in a variety of ways, either alone or with others.

A spokesman for the RNLI Wick branch said: "Our fundraisers are all keen to take this challenge on as it's for such a worthy cause – so if you see them out and about give them a wave or a toot of the horn to support them on their way."

RNLI lifeboats in Scotland protect hundreds of communities with a 24-hour search and rescue service.

The spokesman added: "Keeping a modern fleet of lifeboats maintained, fuelled and ever ready to go to the rescue from all 46 of the lifeboat stations in Scotland is expensive and we rely entirely on voluntary donations to ensure this service is maintained.

"It costs an average of £155,000 to run a lifeboat station in Scotland but, with the implications of Covid-19, we haven't been able to fundraise as normal to help keep our lifeboats afloat."

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