Author and hotelier William Ireland has just made a generous donation to the Hope Cove Life Boat.

He has donated £750 from money raised from the sales of his recently published book 'A Good Scrap I Fear' .

Chairman of Hope Cove Lifeboat Steve Baguley said: “William and the Cottage Hotel have been enthusiastic supporters of the Hope Cove Life Boat since we formed as an Independent Lifeboat in 2010 when the coastguards removed the Rescue boat operated from Hope Cove.

“William has held fund raising events at the hotel and has given us free use of the facilities when we require them.

“We are a busy unit manned and run by a team of local volunteers and supported by the village and visitors.”

Hope Cove Lifeboat have training every Tuesday evening and during the summer months have a Cocktail bar and Pizza van by the slipway who also donate a percentage of their takings to them.

They were founding members of the National Independent Lifeboat Association (NILA) which is made up of the teams from the 60 plus independent lifeboats around the UK.

The National Independent Lifeboat Association (NILA) is a charity that was formed in 2022 to promote and support independent lifeboat organisations across the United Kingdom.

NILA’s mission is to give a voice, assistance and advice to the growing community of independent lifeboats across the United Kingdom, creating a valued, professional and recognised resource for water-based search and rescue.

Their community has a shared vision and values, providing an opportunity for collaborative development and training while allowing members to retain their independence.

NILA’s leadership team brings a great diversity of experience, allowing them to guide the organisation and ensure its success.

Trustees and committee members hail from across the United Kingdom, each a current or former volunteer at an independent lifeboat organisation and some having also worked with other Search and Rescue organisations.