MINEHEAD lifeboat station’s shop has reopened after three disrupted trading years with the prospect of a full season’s business ahead.

The shop offers a wide range of unique RNLI merchandise and is one of the mainstays of local fund-raising, bringing in on average £50,000 a year to help offset the station’s £100,000 running costs.

But first Covid and then the extensive, £1 million-plus refit of the historic station building, kept its doors firmly closed for much of the past three years.

Now newly-appointed manager Steve Parr and his team of volunteer staff say it’s full steam ahead to get the till ringing again and the funds rolling in.

Steve said there had been no alternative but to close the shop completely last year.

“With building work going on around and above it and the need to keep the public away from a potentially hazardous site there was no option - but we realised from the many, many comments we received from visitors how popular the shop is and how disappointed they were not to be able to make their annual buying visit,” he said.

“Shop staff not only run the shop, they act as an interface between the public, the station and the RNLI because obviously for the majority of the time the crew aren’t there.

“I am delighted with the response we have had to our appeal for new volunteers and we are all looking forward to seeing those sales figures climbing again.”

Meanwhile the station’s fund-raising team is also planning to make up for lost time with a full programme of events this summer.

Co-ordinator Christine White said the Covid lockdowns had had a severe impact on routine fund-raising events.

“Last year we rather concentrated on helping to finance the building project and that proved to be a real measure of how much support there is for the RNLI in the local community,” she said.

“We were set the challenge of raising £250,000 locally towards the overall cost and I’m delighted to say that thanks to local people’s huge generosity we comfortably exceeded that target.

“But we always want to make our fund-raising events as enjoyable as possible and the programme we have lined up for this summer certainly fulfils that brief.”

The first chance to support the work of the RNLI comes on Saturday June 3 - Cider Day - when RNLI fund-raisers are linking up with the West Somerset Railway to showcase the products of local craft cider producers at Minehead railway station, an event which will include tastings and a hog roast.