A £350,000 extension to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution's depot at Thirsk Industrial Park has proven plain sailing for Thirsk-based Severfield-Reeve DesignBuild, the company that designed and built the existing depot in 1988.

The project involved building a 6,200sq ft extension to the existing warehouse as well as installing a 5,400sq ft mezzanine floor and an automated package handling system within the existing warehouse and between the offices and the new extension.

New heating and ventilation systems were also added to the existing warehouse and offices.

The depot, which has 16 full-time staff and up to 35 part-timers, is the RNLI's trading arm. Among its many jobs is the sending out of one-and-a-quarter million mail order catalogues annually.

Depot manager Terry Burden says: "The depot plays a vital role as the major fundraiser for the RNLI and it was essential that we took advantage of the burgeoning demand for our catalogues by expanding our premises."

Severfield-Reeve DesignBuild managing director Lindsay Ross added: "It is testament to the job we did the first time that the RNLI felt confident enough to come back to us.

"We carry out design and build work for a wide range of companies, but it is particularly rewarding to have helped out such a worthy cause.

"One particularly important aspect of this project was the necessity to carry out what are substantial alterations to existing premises without disrupting the institution's on-going daily routine."