Five-year-old Fred walks miles to save lives at sea

Fred, from Crewkerne, had set out at the start of May to walk a mile a day throughout the month and raise funds for the RNLI. He was inspired to start the challenge by reading about Mayday Mile in a RNLI magazine given to him by his uncle whilst on a visit to Lyme Regis lifeboat station. ‘I can do that’ said Fred – and off he went walking at least one mile a day during May, far exceeding the 31-mile challenge and finishing with an impressive total of 54 miles.

Fred and his family were given a tour of the lifeboat station by volunteer Visits Officer Colin Mears who said, ‘This is an amazing achievement by one so young. Fred is clearly an enthusiastic supporter of the RNLI who has shown great determination throughout the challenge. In the process he has raised over £1000 for our charity, twice his original target.’

Mayday Mile is a fun scheme run by the RNLI in which participants meet the challenge of walking one mile every day throughout the month of May and, through sponsorship, raise funds for the lifesaving charity. This year Mayday Mile participants have raised £250,000 and covered over 68,000 miles

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Notes to editors

Photo 1 Caption: Five-year old Fred Manuel on board Lyme Regis RNLI’s Atlantic 85 inshore lifeboat with volunteer crew. Credit: RNLI/Nick Marks.

Photo 2 Caption: Mile a Day walker Fred Manuel with cakes he (and his Mum) had made for the Lyme Regis volunteers. Photo credit: RNLI/Nick Marks

Photo 3 Caption: Five-year-old Mile a Day walker Fred Manuel was welcomed by RNLI volunteers at Lyme Regis. Photo credit: RNLI/Nick Marks.

RNLI media contacts

For more information, please contact Nick Marks, volunteer Lifeboat Press Officer at Lyme Regis Lifeboat Station on 07568 187582 or [email protected]. or Emma Haines, Regional Communications Manager, on 07786 668847 or [email protected], or contact the RNLI Press Office on 01202 336789.