Volunteers shocked by theft of charity donations from collection box
Volunteer lifeboat crew members from RNLI Brighton Lifeboat Station were shocked to discover their charitable collection box had been broken into and emptied over the weekend.
On Saturday 28 March, a Brighton Lifeboat Station volunteer visited the lifeboat station to find that someone had broken into their external collection box and taken its contents.
The station posted a photo onto their Twitter and said they were ‘heartbroken’ about the discovery.
The RNLI is a charity which exists to save lives at sea and has lifeboats at 238 stations around the UK and Ireland – all of which are crewed by highly-trained volunteers. As a charity, donations from the public are essential to ensuring the RNLI can carry on its lifesaving work.
Brighton lifeboat crew launched 60 times last year and helped over 50 people. The crew, who volunteer their time to help save others, are sorely disappointed about the theft of the donated money, all of which could have helped fund vital training or equipment.
They said, ‘The money in that collection box was generously donated by members of the public who have chosen to support the work we do.
‘Our volunteers are working very hard at this difficult time to keep launching to rescue those who need us. This just makes it harder.’
As the money is donated voluntarily, it is difficult to give an accurate estimate of how much donated money has been stolen.
The images captured by Brighton Marina CCTV cameras were unidentifiable. If anyone has any further information, we urge them to contact the Sussex Police with the crime reference number 47200055016.
To donate to the RNLI, please visit RNLI.org/donate.
RNLI Media Contacts
Interviews are available with volunteer Brighton Lifeboat Press Officer, Jade Cohen. Please contact Charlotte Cranny-Evans on 07393 763 780 or [email protected].
RNLI Online
Online donations to the lifesaving service the RNLI provides can be made here.
For more information on the RNLI, please visit rnli.org. News releases and other media resources, including RSS feeds, downloadable photos and video, are available at the RNLI News Centre rnli.org/news-and-media.
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.
Learn more about the RNLI
For more information please visit the RNLI website or Facebook, X, TikTok and YouTube. News releases, videos and photos are available on the News Centre.
Contacting the RNLI - public enquiries
Members of the public may contact the RNLI on 0300 300 9990 (UK) or 1800 991802 (Ireland) or by email.