A CAMPAIGN to buy a lifeboat in memory of Williton student Toby Rundle is steaming towards the finishing line - ahead of time.

The £165,000 appeal target is within sight with the fund having passed the £160,000 mark.

And organisers are hoping a Jazz Band Ball on October 21 will steer it into the final straight.

Toby, the only son of local journalist Chris Rundle and his wife Debbie - who have both worked for the Free Press during their careers - died two years ago.

He was only 21 and about to start his final year at Lady Margaret Hall College, Oxford where he was studying for an English and classics degree.

With his father having notched up 20 years' service as a volunteer lifeboatman in Minehead, his family decided that raising the £165,000 needed to buy a RNLI Atlantic 85 lifeboat would be a fitting tribute to his memory.

The appeal was launched last year but despite setting themselves a three-year timetable to reach the target, the family now believe they will be able to hand all the money over by Christmas.

The venue for the latest fundraising event will be the newly refurbished ballroom at Minehead's Hobby Horse Inn.

Local musicians The Darktown Strutters will be the stars of the show, presenting an evening of Dixieland jazz, accompanied by a ploughman's supper.

Mr Rundle said the idea for the event had come from band members themselves.

"Throughout the last 15 months we have been repeatedly moved by people who didn't even know Toby but who have come forward with fundraising ideas," he said.

"Although we have been running the appeal, the credit for achieving such a remarkable total must go to those who have so generously given time and money to supporting us.

"We have had a staggering response and the money has been coming in at an average rate of £10,000 a month - far more rapidly than we could ever have anticipated."

The ball is the latest in a string of money spinning activities for the appeal, with previous events including a sponsored walk from Minehead to Poole, a charity auction and quiz night and a barn dance and hog roast.

Tickets for the ball, priced £12.50 to include supper, are available from a number of outlets in Minehead, including Toucan Wholefoods, The Reading Room, Hobby Horse, Animal Feed Centre, Colour Centre, Metropole Garage and Harbour Cafe.

They can also be bought at Davies Newsagents in Williton, the Marina Shop in Watchet, at the door or by ringing 07789 584123.