THOUSANDS flocked to Lyme Regis for the annual lifeboat week to raise money for the RNLI.

Although the Red Arrows display, scheduled for Monday afternoon was postponed due to thick fog, dozens of other events have so far attracted crowds of visitors and locals.

The fundraising week will run until the weekend, with the popular RAF Falcons display taking place tomorrow (Friday) afternoon - before the traditional fireworks display will round off the events.

Last year, around 40,000 people flocked to the resort in order to catch the Red Arrows in action. But this year, the display was halted moments before the scheduled 5pm show after thick fog failed to lift. Organisers hope to welcome back the Red Arrows next year.

Irene Roper, chairman of the Lyme Regis and Charmouth RNLI Guild, said: “We had a wonderful start to the week with volunteers working very hard and people, as usual, have been very generous with donations.

“We were very sorry that the Red Arrows could not perform, but the officer in charge, Red 10, was unable to land in his helicopter because of the weather – so the event had to be cancelled for the first time in several years.

“However, we have plenty of events to come including tomorrow (Friday) the RAF Falcons and the fireworks display.”

On Saturday, Dorset Fire and Rescue Service once again won the bathtub race as they fought off competition from seven other teams.

Earlier on Saturday, the RNLI lifeboat team carried out a display - before the traditional tug of war took place across the mouth of Lyme Regis Harbour on Sunday, with the RNLI team victorious.

A new event took place on Tuesday with a special auction at the lifeboat station, while youngsters also had the chance to take part in a treasure hunt on the beach and a kite-making workshop.

Th RAF Falcons will land in Lyme Regis at 5pm tomorrow.