A decade ago there was a day of celebration in the little Borders coastal village of St Abbs that they will never forget.

The RNLI closed its lifeboat station in 2015 - bringing a 104-year association to an end - saying there was no clear need for it with one nearby in Eyemouth.

The community rallied round to raise the money needed to bring a boat back and found a surprise ally in the shape of the teacake tycoon Sir Boyd Tunnock.

Just a year later, the Thomas Tunnock lifeboat, named in honour of the businessman's late brother and grandfather, was launched to great acclaim.

The story of the lifeboat station at St Abbs started with tragedy.

In October 1907 the cargo vessel Alfred Erlandsen struck nearby rocks and the villagers who gathered at the clifftop could only listen to their cries for help.

Accounts vary on how many perished; some say 17 including the captain's wife. The only survivor was his great Dane dog Karo which managed to swim ashore.

One of those who witnessed the shipwreck was women's rights campaigner and philanthropist Jane Hay who wrote to the Edinburgh Evening News:" I write to say that personally I shall never rest content till we have a lifeboat and rocket apparatus of our own in St Abbs."

Four years later, in August 1911, the RNLI established one there - the Helen Smitton - with the dog Karo, which had been involved in fundraising, said to have been among the guests who watched the boat arrive.

Over the course of the next century, the St Abbs lifeboat rescued hundreds of people but in 2015 it found itself in need of saving when the charity announced that, following an "extensive review", the service was to be withdrawn.

Cover from nearby Eyemouth was promised instead, but the plans sparked outcry with a petition against the move gathering about 13,000 signatures.

On 8 September 2015, the station closed - swiftly followed by an appeal to raise the £500,000 needed to fund an independent lifeboat.

That was where businessman Tunnock stepped in with a donation which, he said at the time, amounted to a "lot of caramel wafers".

He agreed to put £250,000 towards the boat and, barely a year after the old station closed, the new boat was officially launched.

Current operations manager, Barry Shaw, said that it had allowed them to carry on a service which was highly valued in the village and beyond.

"We've lost some of our old crew from 10 years ago, unfortunately, but we've got new members," he said.

"But the way the lifeboat operates is just in the same way as we were doing 10 years ago.

"We're still answering the calls from the coastguard and we're protecting the people who use the coast around our area."

He said the donation from Tunnock had allowed them to get the lifeboat "a lot quicker than was anticipated".

"Having a lifeboat still here and still operational, I think it's been a massive achievement from all the volunteers, not just the lifeboat crew," he added.

He said the station remained of huge importance to a "very small village".

"It sits right in the heart of the harbour," he said.

"It is still crewed by local people - our helms are local people.

"We've got a dive boat operator, we've got fishermen - they're still helming our boat.

"They know the water like nobody else."

He moved to the village in 2020 and was immediately "invited" to join the crew by neighbour Alistair Crowe - who had led the lifeboat appeal.

"It wasn't like there was an option really," recalled Shaw.

"I popped down, had a word with everybody and thought - I'd like to be part of this."

He started out as boat crew and has occupied a number of roles.

"Volunteering, obviously, you get tremendous satisfaction that you are doing a good job and you are there to help people that are in distress," he said.

He said they covered a wide range of callouts and the importance of the service went beyond its work out on the water.

"It isn't all about just going on the boat - it is about supporting our local community as well," he added.