YORK Rescue Boat is to get a new lifeboat - and will name it after a teenager whose death in the River Foss spurred his parents to raise funds to buy the boat.

Spirit of Sonny is set to be delivered by the end of the year and will go operational once volunteers have undergone the necessary conversion training.

Sonny Ferry, 19, of Rutland, drowned in April 2019 at the end of a night out, and rescue boat crew located his body near Blue Bridge.

The following week, his parents, Kate and Steve, met at The Press’s HQ with some of the boat volunteers to thank them, and pledged to raise £45,000 for a replacement lifeboat.

Their ‘Sunshine Campaign’ has since raised more than £35,000, despite the pandemic, and, with offers of assistance from Acaster Marine in York and Highfield UK, a new boat can now be ordered.

Senior operations manager Dave Horn said that after the pandemic hit, he had shelved all hope of ordering the new boat in the near future. “The fantastic drive and determination shown by Kate, Steve, their family, friends and everyone else who has donated to this campaign have made this now possible. Therefore in memory of the death of Sonny, the boat is going to be named ‘Spirit of Sonny’.”

He said the new lifeboat was being built by Highfield and was based on their Patrol 660 hull but with bespoke modifications to provide the working platform required during patrols, searches and rescues. “The design will provide better seating for the crew, a working area capable of taking a basket stretcher, improved sonar, radio and electronics suite, greater towing capability and a more reliable and environmentally friendly engine.

“Our current boat is nearly 15 years old and coming to the end of its operational life, but will still be used as a crew training boat.”

Kate Ferry said she and Steve were determined to continue fundraising to reach their original £45,000 target, with the extra money being used to help kit out the new boat, and she appealed for support from York people.

She said they had wanted to focus their grief on positive action by raising the money and had been overwhelmed by the support they had received.