Burnham-On-Sea’s rescue hovercraft station was open to the public on Sunday (June 16th) to mark the 30th anniversary of its seafront building being constructed.
BARB Search and Rescue held the open morning to mark the milestone, exactly 30 years to the day that the seafront station was opened.
In June 1994 Anneka Rice and the BBC TV show Challenge Anneka built the facilities in just 72 hours.
“It was great to see dozens of people come along to the mark the milestone – from supporters and local residents to former volunteers,” said a BARB spokesman.
“The TV episode was shown during Sunday’s event for those attending to reminisce and also hear more about how the charity has developed in the three decades since.”
Among Sunday’s visitors was Charlie Hall, pictured above, who was formerly BARB’s secretary, and wrote to the BBC to invite Anneka Rice to take on the challenge in the 1990s.
And Sue Thorne, pictured below, who was a volunteer first aider at the time, appeared in the TV episode in Burnham and fondly remembers the filming taking place.
Local historian John Strickland visited Sunday’s event and presented the proceeds of a fundraising booklet on the Berrow shipwreck to BARB and the RNLI.
