This summer’s Falmouth International Sea Shanty Festival raised a staggering £10,480 for the RNLI – setting a new record for the three day event.

This bumper profit has brought the amount raised over the ten years that the festival has been running, to more than £50,000, with £29,686 raised in the last four years alone.

The £10,480 will be spent to benefit the Falmouth Lifeboat Station - the average yearly running costs of an All Weather Lifeboat (ALB) station are £195,000, with annual crew training costs for an ALB station running at £26,000.

Richard Gates, town manager and festival chairman, said: “Raising this amount of money from just one weekend is an unbelievable achievement, and it goes to show what a great festival it is, and how it continues to improve.

“This incredible success could not be possible without the huge generosity of everyone supporting the event, including the many groups who give their time to make the festival what it is.

“Betty Stogs and the Beat Betty competition raised a large proportion of this money and we hope that this will continue to increase year on year.”

Alan Barnes, RNLI chairman for Falmouth, added: “It's great to be part of a festival where so many people come year after year and have such a good time. But they also know they are supporting Falmouth Lifeboat and the crew in their efforts to keep people safe at sea in the area.”

Brad Rochfort, of sponsors Skinners Brewery, said: “Skinners Brewery are so proud to have been part of the Sea Shanty Festival since the beginning, and it’s amazing to see how popular the event has become with shanty singers from the UK and all over the world.

“It’s a great weekend which has proved so beneficial to the town and of course raised vital funds for Falmouth’s RNLI.”

Neil Chadwick, committee member and joint managing director of Seasalt, has been involved with the festival since the company came in as joint main sponsor alongside Skinners Brewery in 2014.

He said: “Becoming part of the festival has been fantastic for Seasalt, and its success is thanks to the incredible hard work and vision of the organisers, without whom this money couldn’t be raised.”

The festival has been delighting revellers since 2004 with a range of traditional shanty performances in key locations around Falmouth.

Fifty groups have already been confirmed for 2015, including eight international groups from Ireland, France, Holland and Poland.

For details on the 2015 festival visit falmouthseashanty.co.uk.