JUBILANT lifeboatmen are celebrating after raising £200,000 to continue saving lives using state-of-the-art equipment.

The money, raised in just 16 months through a multitude of events, will go towards the £1.5m cost of a new launch-and-recovery “Supacat” vehicle for the Scarborough lifeboat.

The vehicle, set to arrive next year, has been additionally funded through two legacies.

And it will be used to launch and recover a new £2m “Shannon-class” lifeboat which will replace the existing vessel lifeboat, the Mersey-class Fanny Victoria Wilkinson and Frank Stubbs, which is nearing the end of its operational life.

Operations manager, John Senior, said: “‘On behalf of everyone at Scarborough RNLI, I would like to say a massive ‘thank you’ for the staggering support that we have received for the appeal, not just from the local community and businesses, but from supporters far and wide.

“In just 16 months it’s truly overwhelming that we’ve managed to hit our £200,000 target and we couldn’t have done it without the generosity of the general public and our supporters.

“Our volunteer crew is looking forward to starting their next chapter of lifesaving when the Shannon-class and Supacat system arrives.”

The new lifeboat, due to arrive next year, has been funded by donations from the FW Plaxton Charitable Trust, set up in memory of the founder of the locally-based coach-building firm Plaxton Ltd.