AN INDEPENDENT lifeboat charity in Hamble is appealing to residents for donations after its fundraising efforts were massively reduced during the lockdown.

Like many charities across the UK, Hamble Lifeboat has been struggling to stay afloat since lockdown began, as despite going out on just as many jobs as last year, the lack of opportunity to hold fundraisers is making it "extremely difficult" to generate any income to keep the service going long-term.

Operated by volunteers, and separate from the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the Hamble Lifeboat Charity has been protecting and rescuing people from the River Hamble and Southampton Water for more than 50 years, but volunteers say that without donations, they may feel the effect of lockdown in the future.

Marie Whitehouse, one of the volunteers for the charity, has said that it's "really important" to have this life-saving service and that absolutely anyone could be in need of rescue one day.

She said: "We do exactly the same job as the RNLI but the difference is, we are completely funded by fundraising. Since lockdown, all of our fundraising events have had to be cancelled, and all of the charity pots in pubs and restaurants have not been touched, so we have had basically no money coming in.

"This service is needed now more than ever, activity on the Hamble has been massively increased over the past few weeks, and we're here to rescue when things go wrong. It has highlighted even more the need for local rescue services. Last weekend, we responded to 8 incidents.

"Based in Hamble, we are ready to respond at immediate notice during weekends when our crew man the station, and at very short notice at all other times on a pager response. But I'm not sure how long we will survive without fundraising, we're really struggling."

The charity needs around £60,000 per year to maintain the service, and it is currently £10,000 short of this mark, with a further £14,000 needed to help repair its slipway outside of the lifeboat station in Hamble, which is currently in a bad state.

As part of its #ridingthestorm campaign, the charity is asking residents to set up their own gofundme pages, where they can complete any challenge they wish, while raising money for their cause.

As well as this, on the Hamble Lifeboat Facebook page, there are links to donate directly to the cause.