They say look after the pennies and the pounds will look after themselves. That's why Hunstanton lifeboat treasurer Jackie Merralls is singing the praises of Betty's Pots.
For the teeny recycled jars in which people save 5p pieces for the charity which saves lives at sea have come flying into the station full of change to the tune of more than £7,000.
Supporters collected more than 140,000 of 5p pieces last year. They ranged from children who were given pots to fill before school visits to the Norfolk station, to the Rock Choir who brought hundreds along on their coach when they came to perform for the RNLI's 200 anniversary containing more than £600 worth of silver shrapnel.
Visitors to the station also included Julian Coles and Debbie Claridge from Didcot, in Oxfordshire, who completed a mammoth sponsored trek around all 238 RNLI stations at Hunstanton, giving each crew along the way three Betty's 5p Pots.
Laid end to end, the 18mm coins which have found their way to Hunstanton RNLI would stretch for more than a mile and a half.
But the money raised will go much further than that when it comes to saving lives at sea.
For the sum is more than the cost of training and equipping two volunteers to save lives on board the station's inshore lifeboat or search and rescue hovercraft.
Treasurer Jackie said: 'Our crew and more than 200 like them would not be able to carry out their lifesaving work without the kindness of those who donate.
'Even a few 5p pieces soon mounts up, with a jar holding more than £2 worth.
'That money helps us to train and equip our crew to keep saving lives at sea.'
Donations in pots included £2,030 from Albany Radio, in Hertford and £476 from the town's former RNLI branch.
Hertford was the home of the late Betty Frith, who was the treasurer of its RNLI branch for more than 20 years.
It was Betty who first came up with the idea of supporters filling recycled small jam jars that hotel guests are given containing breakfast jam or marmalade with 5p pieces, which are donated to the RNLI when full.
Change began trickling into the first pots in May, 2014. With support from Albany radio, the Hertford branch raised £450 in 5p coins in the first year.
The following year, the Hertford total topped £2,500. Other branches and lifeboat stations around the country took up the idea and Betty's Pots have since raised more than £400,000.
Jackie added: 'While they'll always be Betty's 5p Pots, we're starting to see people using them for a multitude of coins and they're all welcome.'
If you'd like a pot to fill to help save lives at sea, they can be collected from supporters in and around Hunstanton including the LeStrange Arms, The Mariners, Caley Hall, Cruso Wilkins; and the Queen Victoria, The Granary, Stockley's Chemist and Shepherd's Port Caravan Park at Snettisham.
Notes to editor
Hunstanton is one of the busiest lifeboat stations in Norfolk, whose volunteers operate the fast inshore lifeboat
Spirit of West Norfolk and the search and rescue hovercraft Hunstanton Flyer.
Equipping a crew member to go to sea costs £1,920, while the average annual training cost for a volunteer is £1,450.
The coins collected at the station together weigh almost 500kg - getting on for half a tonne.
While supporters have been on a Betty's Pots blitz in Hunstanton, there are still plenty more of them out there to collect.
With an estimated 3,847m in circulation, the shrapnel won't be running out any time soon.
Some 32.4m were struck of the latest oak leaf design, issued in 2023, according to the Royal Mint.
RNLI media contacts
For more information call Chris Bishop, Hunstanton RNLI volunteer Deputy Lifeboat Press Officer on 07584 147219 or Clare Hopps, RNLI Regional Communications Manager, North and East on 07824 518641 or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.
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.
