FUNDS are now in place to buy the proposed York Rescue Boat after a charity dinner raised more than £6,000 towards the cause.

The York Rescue Boat charity held its first fundraising ball at the Royal York Hotel on Friday evening and now hopes to be up and running by next spring.

An auction and raffle raised £3,010 towards the £10,000 needed to buy a boat to patrol York’s rivers in a bid to help prevent further tragedies.

With match-funding provided on the night by Barclays bank, and money from previous fundraisers, the funds are now in place to buy the boat and support the charity’s river safety educational ambitions.

Charity founder Dave Benson said: “It has been an absolutely fantastic night, we have raised a lot more than I thought we would which will go a long way towards what we are trying to achieve.

“We are now in a position to move forward, and the crew will be going in to training next month as we hope to be operational in the spring.

“Many thanks to Barclays and to all the prize donors and guests who have made this night such a success.”

During the evening York Rescue Boat presented a Young Community Hero Award to 14-year-old Liz Cooper in recognition of her efforts earlier this month in preventing a woman from jumping into the Ouse.

As reported previously in The Press, the teenager spoke to the woman and persuaded her not to jump, then sat with her and chatted to keep her calm until the emergency services arrived.

The charity ball was attended by the Lord Mayor Cllr Ian Gillies and lady mayoress, and Jackie Roberts who has supported York Rescue Boat following the death of her daughter Megan who drowned in the River Ouse earlier this year, aged 20, following a night out in the city-centre Ben Clarkson, 22, and Tyler Pearson, 18, also died in the Foss and Ouse respectively earlier this year, and the triple-tragedy prompted renewed determination to improve river safety and to increase awareness of the dangers they can pose.

Police, city councillors and officials and The Press have all been involved in efforts to increase awareness.

Mr Benson plans to patrol the Ouse during busy times, to try to deter and prevent people from jumping into the water and to rescue those who might jump or fall in.

He has previously been given a Land Rover by local dealer Armstrong Massey, which will be used for fundraising and later to move the boat around and several other well-wishers have also given support.