STOURBRIDGE’S branch of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution raised more than £300 at its recent cheese and wine tasting evening.

The evening drizzle did not dampen the spirits of more than 50 people who supported the evening, raising money for the RNLI and its volunteer crews, at the award-winning Halfpenny Green Vineyards.

During the event, one of the vineyard’s experts on wine production, Ben Hunt, talked about the wines, as well as their production and how to appreciate them. Attendees also got the chance to sample four of the selected wines.

Chris Fonteyn, RNLI branch chairman, said: “We were very grateful to Halfpenny Green Vineyards for making us so welcome and to all those who came along to make it a great evening.

“Only one in ten of our volunteer lifeboat crew members come from a maritime background and so their training is all important to ensure that those in trouble at sea can be rescued safely and efficiently.”

The £319 raised during the evening will go toward training the RNLI’s volunteer crews at the New Quay lifeboat station. On service at the station since 1992 is the Mersey class lifeboat the “Frank and Lena Clifford of Stourbridge”.