A WINNING floral display is helping to keep a North-East lifeboat afloat.

Dobbies Garden Centre, in Durham Road, Birtley, near Chester-le-Street, won a silver award in the trade category of the Gateshead Spring Flower Festival with its floral depiction of a maritime scene.

The company decided to donate the £130 prize money to the RNLI's volunteer-manned lifeboat at Sunderland and raised another £135 in donations to a collecting tin.

The lifeboat's coxswain Ernie Laws said: "I'm delighted to have the generous support of Dobbies garden Centre and its customers.''

RNLI organiser Jane White said: "The lifeboat station has 22 crewmen and every kit they wear costs more than £200.

"We constantly have to raise money to help keep the lifeboat afloat. The service the volunteers provide is very necessary.''

Centre manager Paul Travis-Anderson said the display, which features a dinghy and plants found at the coast, was now on display in the centre's foyer.

"People often forget about the lifeboats, so we thought that, as we are quite close to the coast, we would raise money for them. We plan to carry on helping the RNLI for the rest of the year."