AN HISTORIC RNLI donation box has been restored to its original glory thanks to the efforts of the Bass Rock Community Group.
The cast-iron collection box, located on Coo's Green in North Berwick, is believed to date from the 1920s or 1930s and, over the years, had been weathered so much that it resembled little more than a roadside bollard and took two attempts to be identified correctly.
Richard Rogers, who led the restoration project on behalf of the community group, said that the team stripped the box back to bare metal, uncovering decades of old paint, before restoring it in one of its original colour schemes.
New gold lettering was also added to recreate its historic appearance.
The restoration also presented a unique challenge, as no keys to the box survived.
Graeme MacDonald, of Claymore Lock & Safe Co. Ltd. in Haddington, volunteered his time to cut open the box, install a new lock and produce replacement keys.
Volunteers also fitted a new RNLI crown and designed display panels for both sides of the box.
The front features North Berwick's original lifeboat, while the reverse shows a modern lifeboat, with advice for the designs provided by SiGNMAN based at Fenton Barns.
Ricky Martin, operations manager at RNLI North Berwick, said that the charity volunteers were "hugely grateful" for the restoration of a key piece of history.
He said: "Similar cast iron collection boxes have been dated to the early 1900s and knowing that it has been restored back to its former glory and is once again collecting lifesaving donations is really heartening.
"The RNLI has been saving lives with the support of coastal communities since 1824.
"Here at North Berwick, it was the community who petitioned for a lifeboat to be stationed here in 1860. It's wonderful to see that the community connection is still strong."
The restored box has now been returned to Coo's Green, where it is once again accepting donations to support RNLI crews who save lives at sea.
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