Donation marks Cullercoats lifeboat rescue anniversary

Three relatives of Cullercoats RNLI volunteer Frank Taylor were on board the rescue lifeboat

The great-great-grandson of a mariner saved in a dramatic sea rescue has made a donation to the local lifeboat station to mark its 160th anniversary.

On New Year's Day in 1861 the brig "Lovely Nelly" ran aground at Whitley Bay, North Tyneside, in a blizzard.

Weather conditions meant the lifeboat could not be launched from Cullercoats, so it was hauled more than two miles to a safe set off point for the rescue.

William Henry Kirby has donated £1,861 to Cullercoats RNLI.

He said the donation amount corresponded to the year of the rescue.

The story goes that women from the fishing village helped haul its lifeboat - the Percy - to the launching-point before the male crew rowed out.

They managed to save almost everyone on board the Lovely Nelly - though the cabin boy drowned.

North East artist John Charlton depicted the dragging of the lifeboat in his 1910 painting "The Women", which hangs in Newcastle's Laing Art Gallery

William Henry Kirby, the great-great-grandson of the ship's mate on board the Lovely Nelly, said: "I am hopeful it will encourage further donations to help you continue to save lives".

Lifeboat operations manager Frank Taylor, three of whose relatives took part in the rescue, described it as a "testament to the bravery of the crew".

He said the donation would "help us to continue the fine history of saving lives at sea from Cullercoats Lifeboat Station".