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Tractor trundle raises £400 for St Bees RNLI

Lifeboats News Release

The Boxing Day Tractor Trundle organised by the West Cumbria Vintage Club met at St Bees beach on a cold and windy Boxing Day and raised £400 for St Bees RNLI.

St Bees volunteers ready to hand out refreshments

RNLI/Colin Wadey

Refreshment team at the ready

Fifty seven tractors and vintage vehicles of all shapes and sizes gathered in St Bees car park for the annual trundle around the local villages and farms which raised £400 for St Bees RNLI. There was a great turnout not only from the participants but from the many visitors who came along to see the colourful array of vehicles.

Volunteers from St Bees RNLI drove their tractor and lifeboat along the seafront to add to the spectacle. The RNLI volunteers handed out tea, coffee and bacon sandwiches to the cold and wind-swept club members and visitors. The generous donations from the welcome refreshments raised a further £390.

During the event the St Bees RNLI volunteers heard the sad news that Ted Biggins had recently died.
Ted was a member of the West Cumbria Vintage Club and had been the Vice Chairman since the late 1990’s. He set up the Boxing Day tractor trundle back in 1982 starting with eleven tractors. In later years there has been up to seventy taking part. Ted will be greatly missed by everyone who knew him, especially his family and those in the WCVC.

Over the years, the Ted has helped raise around £2800 for St Bees RNLI from the annual tractor Trundle.

RNLI media contacts

For more information please telephone Colin Wadey, St Bees RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer on 07742207222 [email protected] or Claire Elshaw, Regional Media Officer on 07468 353082 or [email protected] or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.

Ted Biggins who first stared the event in 1982

West Cumbria Vintage Club

Ted Biggins who first stared the event in 1982
Lifeboat and Tractor with the RNLI refreshment team in the background

RNLI/Colin Wadey

Lifeboat and Tractor
Some of the tractors on display

RNLI/Colin Wadey

Some of the tractors on display
More of the vintage trucks

RNLI/Colin Wadey

More of the vintage trucks

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, Twitter 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.

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