RNLI sells two Ferraris to buy Pwllheli lifeboat station

Two rare Ferraris sold for £8.5m at auction

A new lifeboat station has been built in north Wales after a businessman left the RNLI cars worth £8.5m in his will.

Businessman and classic car enthusiast Richard Colton, died in 2015.

He left two rare Ferraris to the charity, which later sold for about £8.5m at auction - the most valuable items ever left to the organisation in a single donation.

Part of the money funded new equipment in Hastings, while £2.8m paid for the new station at Pwllheli, Gwynedd.

Mr Colton left the RNLI a red 1960 Ferrari 250 GT SWB, which sold at auction for £6.6m, and a 1967 Ferrari 275 GTB/4, which raised £1.93m.

Work on the new boathouse is now complete, although Covid delayed the manufacturing of a new lifeboat - due to arrive in April.

'Humbling end to difficult year'

Pwllheli lifeboat operations manager Cliff Thomas said: "Receiving this fantastic news really was a shock. What an exceptional Christmas gift for us all.

"This latest donation really is a humbling end to what has been a difficult year for everyone."

Clive Moore, Pwllheli coxswain, said: "We are a small Welsh station and the move to the new building and site will mark a significant period in the history of the station.

"I find it remarkable and very humbling that a gentleman who had no seafaring connection should have the desire to support the RNLI through the sale of his treasured cars, and that we should now benefit at Pwllheli as a consequence of his generosity."

The local community has also raised £83,000 towards the new station.