A COMMUNITY group has been thanked for helping to raise money for a lifeboat station after thieves stole the stock from its charity souvenir shop.

Last month, thieves smashed their way into Redcar Lifeboat Station and stole every item on sale, including key rings, sweatshirts, Christmas cards and calendars.

The value of the items stolen plus repairs to the damage took the cost of the break-in to £1,000.

After reading about the incident, members of Norton Heritage, a history group from Norton, near Stockton, donated £100 to the station.

They have received a letter of thanks from station treasurer Peter Haslett who said: "As you can imagine, we were quite devastated when we saw the damage and theft to the shop and wondered how people could do this to a charity.

"However, on receiving your donation, you restored our faith in human nature and we are extremely grateful to you for thinking of us in this way.

"As you will know, all money raised for the RNLI comes from voluntary contributions so you can see how valuable your donation is to us.

"I can assure you that your contribution will be put to good use at the station in helping to save lives at sea."