A drowning tragedy which cost a holidaymaker his life in the summer brought home the importance of the role of the RNLI along the north Norfolk coast.

The volunteer crew at Happisburgh responded to the emergency at nearby Sea Palling in July.

And while one man was saved from the rip tide another could not be revived.

However, with two new boats set to arrive at the station in the new year at a cost of £40,000 each and running costs of £20,000 a year, the station relies on donations from the public to survive.

Happisburgh Lifeboat Station held Christmas mince pie and craft fair open day on Saturday.

And the event, which also included a tour of the station, raised a total of more than £1485.

Welcoming the public's support, Jacqui Robertson, manager of the RNLI station's shop, said: 'We've had a lot of call outs this year; we had the tragedy unfortunately down at Sea Palling. The crews did manage to get one chap breathing before the air ambulance arrived. Unfortunately they couldn't do anything for the other person.

'We want to educate people to keep away from rip tides and to swim safely.

'Hopefully everyone has had a good time and we've raised a lot of money for the RNLI.'

Happisburgh Lifeboat Station is setting up a Fundraising Team and anyone who would like to take on the role as Fundraising Coordinator. For more details call 07766007936 evenings or weekends or email: lofty273@googlemail.com