LIFEBOAT crews gathered for a rare get-together as the Severn Area Rescue Association (SARA) celebrates its 40th anniversary.

The event at the charity's Beachley station on Sunday was a curtain-raiser to the main public celebrations to be held in July.

River watchers were able to see the rare sight of six of SARA's lifeboats powering on the water.

SARA chairman Mervyn Fleming said: "We don't get many opportunities to get us all together.

"We've got others out training in the Forest at the moment."

Volunteers from the Beachley station – who come from across south Monmouthshire and the Forest – were joined by others from Sharpness and Tewkesbury.

There are about 50 volunteers attached to the Beachley station.

SARA was founded in 1973 with headquarters at Tutshill and bought its first boat in 1977.

The second station opened in Sharpness in 1986 and another followed at Tewkesbury in 2007 folowing the floods.

As well as being operating lifeboats, SARA is also an official mountain rescue post for the Wye Valley.

Operations will be expanded further this year with a base in Newport.

Mr Fleming said they hoped to contact as many of the original volunteers as possible.

SARA is a charity and receives no public money. It costs about £100,000 a year to keep the stations running.