YORK Rescue Boat has secured a cash boost from a local housebuilder - which will help the service to purchase a brand-new support vehicle.

The lifeboat, search and rescue organisation is fundraising for an incident support vehicle which will feature digital mapping and rescue equipment to help support its work.

The £1,000 donation from Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, through its Community Champions scheme, will boost the organisation’s £86,000 goal.

Matthew Sellers, of York Rescue Boat, said: “We are immensely grateful for Persimmon Homes’ support. We have an ambitious target and so far have raised more than £62,000 for this lifesaving vehicle.

“Much of our work centres around the Rivers Ouse and Foss. Our team of volunteers are on call 24/7 and on average we respond to one call out a week, to various incidences.

"The new incident support vehicle will feature the latest technology and equipment enabling our team to coordinate emergency responses more efficiently.

"Traditional fundraising is currently very difficult so it is companies like Persimmon that will help us to reach our goal."

Each of the 31 Persimmon Homes regional businesses make two donations of up to £1,000 every month to grassroots groups and charities across the region.

Scott Waters, managing director of Persimmon Homes Yorkshire, said: “Community Champions is all about supporting the heart of the community, so we are very happy to support York Rescue Boat’s fundraising project.”

The housebuilder has also launched its Building Futures initiative, which supports groups working with under-18s.