St Agnes Head Coastwatch Institute appeal for funds for vital repairs
A fundraiser is taking place this evening
A coastwatch station in St Agnes is appealing for donations for vital repairs.
Volunteers at the National Coastwatch Institute, based at St Agnes Head, are appealing for donations for repairs after storm damage.
Their lookout needs a new power system to replace ageing solar panels and the failure of its wind turbine.
The cost of the replacement is around ÂŁ14,000 to ensure it remains operational for the foreseeable future.
Mark Weston, station manager, said: "The offgrid power equipment that we have, a wind turbine and solar panels, have suffered a lot of damage. These things are not cheap to replace."
The NCI is based in a remote location which they warn makes them subject to severe weather conditions.
Mark added: "It experiences the extreme weather conditions that prevail up there. When one of the storms hit it, when you think it's 40-50mph inland, up there it's 60mph plus.
"We are all volunteers. We are the eyes and ears along the coast and work closely with the coastguards. We look out for vulnerable craft such as small fishers, kayakers, paddleboarders and walking along the South West coastal path we keep note of vulnerable walkers such as lone walkers, should anything happen."
NCI St. Agnes Head benefits the St. Agnes local community, as well as visitors, all year round and no price can be placed upon saving someone’s life. NCI St. Agnes Head has been involved in a number of life saving incidents, and they are appealing for support to ensure they can continue providing this valuable service.
A fundraising event is taking place in Threemilestone this evening to raise vital funds.
You can find more information about the event here.
To donate to their GoFund me page, you can visit their website.