£100,000 of postcode lottery cash for Selsey RNLI station

The money materialised after it was revealed that the Millionaire Street for March 23 was in Selsey, and the organisation had selected a local charity to receive a sizeable donation.

The first the team at Selsey RNLI knew of the donation was a phone call answered by Coxswain Rob Archibald who, alongside a handful of other crew members, had to keep the big news secret until People’s Postcode Lottery film crews arrived to shoot a celebratory video.

It comes as the wider RNLI celebrates its 200th anniversary this year, and not long after station staff signed a commemorative scroll containing the RNLI pledge.

Since opening in 1861, the lifeboat station has launched on 2,413 service calls, saving 607 lives. Neil Hopcraft, a navigator at the Selsey lifeboat station, told Postcode Lottery staff, that the lifeboat service is an ‘essential’ part of the community in Selsey: “It can be quite dangerous out there,” he said. “There are always going to be people out there who need our help. £100,000 is a phenomenal amount of money for a place like this, and it means we can do what we do best, and that’s saving lives at sea.”

The People’s Postcode Lottery uses the money provided by players and subscribers to support charities like the RNLI all over the UK. On Saturdays, players can win a share of £1 million in the Millionaire Street Prize, which tends to see a local charity also benefit.