THE much loved Lyme Regis Lifeboat week managed to raise more than £30,000 for the life-saving charity.

Held in the last week of July, crowds were treated to a spectacle of events such as the Red Arrows soaring through the sky and the RAF Falcons parachute display team free-falling through the air.

Mr Roger Goudge, treasurer for the Lyme Regis and Charmouth RNLI Guild, said: “I am fairly sure we will reach £31,000, with a few more donations to come in.

“The result is better than I expected.

“We did not have unbroken sunshine and we certainly had some rain, but on the whole the weather was pretty good to us throughout the week.

“I must praise the generosity of donors to our charity, and of course the band of volunteers who gave up their time to help in so many different ways.”

Mr Goudge, who has been treasurer at the charity for three years, said in his first year the total raised was £47,000 as it was the charity’s celebration of 150 years’ service in Lyme Regis and many special events were put on.

This year’s total is £6,000 less than last year’s total of £37,000, but organisers had predicted this due to the poor weather which blighted the outdoor events.

The gig race had to be postponed and the illuminated boats display also became a victim of the conditions.

Events earlier in the week, such as the Red Arrows and the parachute display team, saw thousands of spectators line the beachfront as they watched the demonstrations.

The indoor events such as the family quiz held at the Marine Theatre saw a packed crowd of 150 in attendance, and the lifeboat crew managed to raise £2,000 by hosting a hot-dog barbecue.

Vice-chairman of the fundraising group Irene Roper said everybody was very happy about the total amount raised.

She said: “We are extremely pleased with the amount raised after a year of hard work.

“Our thanks go to everyone for the amazing donations they have made to our charity, especially in the current economic climate.”