A weekly newspaper has launched a £150,000 campaign to help get the town’s new high-tech lifeboat afloat.

The Exmouth Journal has started a 26-week campaign to raise funds for a special launch and recovery system for its new lifeboat, which will arrive in the town next March.

Exmouth will become the second station in the country to receive the new Shannon-class lifeboat and the RNLI set up a text-a-fiver appeal to fund the £150,000 bespoke tractor unit.

The Archant title has got on board the campaign and is promoting it every week with articles and a specially designed set of RNLI playing cards.

The cut-out-and-keep cards, which include the text-a-fiver message, will appear each week in the newspaper and anyone who collects the full set will be entered into a draw to win a guided tour around the new lifeboat.
 
Group editor Phil Griffin said: “The RNLI is close to the hearts of people in Exmouth, saving lives on a regular basis. Backing such a worthwhile cause is the least we can do to support the volunteers who put their lives on the line to save others.”
 
The Journal’s support for the appeal was launched with a front page story linking to a centre spread, which highlighted an open day held by the RNLI.
 
Since Exmouth’s first lifeboat was launched in 1803, the town’s crews have been launched 3,000 times, around 2,000 people have been rescued and more than 628 lives saved.