Lighthouse needs keepers with 'head for heights'

A landscape photograph of a long tidal island with a black and white lighthouse situated in the centre. No people or vehicles can be seen and the island is surrounded by the sea.Image source, George Stoyle
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The chosen volunteers would regularly get a 360-degree view of the coastal landmark from the lantern room

Nature lovers with "a head for heights" are being sought to volunteer at a remote lighthouse with vistas out over the North Sea.

Yorkshire Wildlife Trust (YWT) said it was looking for 10 keepers to work at the 128ft-high (39m), Grade II listed lighthouse at Spurn National Nature Reserve.

The successful candidates would serve as a beacon of knowledge to visitors at weekends and during school holidays, by sharing the area's history through storytelling, the trust said.

The six-storey Victorian lighthouse at Spurn Point was built in the 1890s but ceased operating in 1985. It was fully restored by 2016 and is now a tourist attraction.

A portrait photograph of a black and white lighthouse standing on a grass verge. A path is in between the grass verge with a green military-style vehicle parked on the side in the far distance.Image source, Harry Appleyard
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The lighthouse and its lantern were decommissioned in 1985, Yorkshire Wildlife Trust said

In a YWT promotional video, Lin Sunderland, who is a lighthouse volunteer, said: "To be inside a lighthouse is going back in time, they save so many lives."

Other duties also include opening and setting up the lighthouse, as well as welcoming visitors.

The trust said it was looking for 10 more individuals to join its 10-strong volunteering team.

Those interested need to have a "good level of physical fitness" to take on the role due to the building's "several flights of narrow stairs".

Spurn Point attracts thousands of visitors each year with the lighthouse being a "unique historical structure and one of the key highlights" of the nature reserve, the trust added.

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