A CHARITY which helps keep the banks and waters of the River Severn safe has been left with a £400 bill because of criminal damage.

Over the Bank Holiday weekend a security lock on the gates at the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) Sharpness Lifeboat Station at Sharpness Docks was damaged.

Geoff Dawe, coxswain and operations manager at the station, said he believes the incident was an attempt to gain entry to the organisation’s building.

He said: "A security lock was smashed in an attempt to gain access, however the culprits failed to completely remove the lock. The lock was damaged beyond further use and has had to be replaced.

"Unfortunately all crew members of the lifeboat have a need for a key to the lock, to gain access when any emergency launch is needed, thus it required new keys for all crew also."

Mr Dawe said to reissue the new keys to all crew members is going to cost SARA £400, money which should have been spent on the charity’s operational costs.

As a charity SARA is dependent on fundraising and donations to operate 365 days a year.

Mr Dawe said: "This is a huge sum of money to take from the operational fund of the lifeboat, particularly in these difficult times."

SARA has four stations along the River Severn including Beachley, Sharpness, Tewkesbury and the Wyre Forest. The charity and its crews are run entirely by volunteers who are trained to carry out search and rescue supporting the coastguard, fire service, police and ambulance.

A spokesman for Gloucestershire Police said officers were treating the incident as criminal damage not an attempted burglary.

They said: "Between 1pm on Sunday, May 6 and 5pm on Tuesday, May 8 padlocks on the barriers to the access road to the docks were damaged."

Anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area over the Bank Holiday weekend should contact Gloucestershire Police on 101 quoting incident number 308 of May 8, or call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.