Water safety efforts earn Dunbar’s lifeboat volunteers RNLI ‘excellence’ award

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution honoured the station for taking its vital water safety messaging to over 3,000 members of the community through a series of talks and visits.

Educating children and adults on the importance of beach safety, instructing how to ‘Float to Live’ to survive if you fall into the water and what to do in an emergency have been key to the talks organised by Dunbar RNLI Water Safety Officer John-Robert Eunson and aided by his team of volunteers.

After presenting the award to John-Robert at the station on Tuesday (March 3), RNLI Water Safety Education Manager Ray Cunningham said: ‘I was incredibly honoured to be able to present the Dunbar Water Safety group with the Excellence in Volunteering award from the RNLI for their work, not only in their local community, but in the work done reaching a wider national audience with the aim of improving water safety.

‘With their hard work, over 3000 local community members have received water safety messaging ensuring that the legacy of safety is truly well and alive in Dunbar and surrounding areas.

‘The entire team at Dunbar station has had an involvement in supporting this message delivery and appropriately each person who has had an input has had their efforts recognised and immortalised in the award, ensuring that no good deed goes unrecognised.

‘I would just like to take this chance to give a massive congratulations and thanks again to everyone at Dunbar for their continued efforts in delivering water safety which are guaranteed to continue to influence the community long into the future.’

Dunbar Water Safety Officer John-Robert said: ‘I was delighted to receive the award on behalf of the station. This award is a fantastic recognition for our volunteer crew and their dedication to promoting water safety.’

Notes to editors

· Photo available of RNLI Water Safety Education Manager Ray Cunningham presenting the award to Dunbar Water Safety Officer John-Robert Eunson with some of his volunteer team.

· Established in 1808, 16 years before the formation of the RNLI, Dunbar Lifeboat Station is one of the oldest in Scotland and is located on the south side of the mouth of the Firth of Forth.

· Since its formation, its volunteer crews have been honoured with 12 awards for gallantry.

· It operates two lifeboats – the Trent class all-weather lifeboat (ALB) John Neville Taylor, moored at Torness Power Station, and the D-class inshore lifeboat (ILB) David Lauder, which launches from Dunbar Harbour.

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Douglas Wight, Dunbar RNLI volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer [email protected]

Natasha Rushby, RNLI Regional Communications Manager for Scotland, 07826 900639, [email protected]

Martin Macnamara, RNLI Regional Communications Lead for Scotland, 07920 365929, [email protected]

RNLI Press Office, 01202 336789

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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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