Winchelsea Primary School blazes the way with Betty's 5p pots

Betty Frith was the Honorary Secretary of the Hartford branch of the RNLI and whilst at Bexhill-on-Sea on holiday, staying at a guest house, she had the brilliant idea over breakfast of washing out the little pots with jam in and getting people to fill them with 5p pieces.

She had been doing this for many years when the Durham branch of the RNLI heard of the idea and ran with it. They have so far raised £123,000, that is 2.1 million 5p coins which, if laid end to end, would stretch over 30 miles and weigh over seven and a half tonnes.

Pupils and staff at St Thomas' C of E primary school are loving the idea of filling up the pots with 5ps. They are having a competition to see which class can collect the most. Carol Gardiner, the head teacher, is very supportive of the local RNLI station. She commented, 'The children are very excited about raising funds for the RNLI. We feel, as a school community, very strongly about supporting our local charities and in particular this one that encourages us to Respect the Water.’

In this fund-raising drive the Rye Harbour station has received great support also from the Rye branch of Boots the chemist; Rastrum Wharf , the Monday Club and the village stores in Rye Harbour; in Winchelsea The Ship and Michaela and her team of hairdressers at the Cats Whiskers; NISA in Camber and a large number of individuals locally.

If you would like to support this venture by having a tray of pots please contact KT on 07789 818878. Let's make this project a great success. We will never catch up Durham, Hertford and Dover but we will give it our best shot.

Jamie Wickens, owner of The Ship, said, 'We are always happy to raise funds for the RNLI and encourage our customers to fill as many pots as possible. This enables the lifeboat volunteers to carry on their wonderful work of saving lives at sea.'

Key facts about the RNLI

The RNLI charity saves lives at sea. Its volunteers provide a 24-hour search and rescue service around the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland coasts. The RNLI operates 238 lifeboat stations in the UK and Ireland and more than 240 lifeguard units on beaches around the UK and Channel Islands. The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service. Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 146,000 lives.

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