Two ‘shouts’ on the first day followed by a barrow-load of fun on day two got Lifeboat Week in Lyme Regis off to a flying start despite the absence of the RAF’s Red Arrows.
The leader of the week’s organising team, lifeboat helm Mark Ellis, said: 'We are delighted with the first few days and I am optimistic for a brilliant fund-raising result for our charity at the end of the week, and, of course, I hope everyone will have had several days to remember.'
The Lyme Regis volunteer lifeboat crew had two emergency calls to deal with on Saturday assisted in the first instance by their colleagues from Weymouth and in the second by crews of the lifeboats from both Weymouth and Exmouth.
All three lifeboat crews thrilled the crowds with an organised display at sea before the week’s opening ceremony performed by the RNLI’s CEO Peter Sparkes.
Saturday ended with the popular bathtub race and a disco.
A highlight on Sunday was a quirky display by the Devon-based Red Barrows whose performance on a roof above Marine Parade wowed an estimated crowd of 500 sitting on the grass banks of the town’s Langmoor and Lister gardens.
The Red Barrows stepped into the breach when the RAF’s crack aerobatic team the Red Arrows were stranded abroad and had to cancel their booking with Lyme Regis town council.
A member of the Red Barrows squadron named Flt Lt Cyclone said: 'It was the first time we had actually replaced the real Red Arrows, so it was a very special day for us in front of our biggest audience in our 30 years.'
Photo: RNLI/Nick Marks