More than £41,000 has been raised to buy a new hovercraft for the RNLI and name it ‘The Flying Farage’.
A tongue-in-cheek fundraising page is rapidly approaching its £100,000 target after it was set up on Saturday.
The playful name is a swipe at former UKIP leader Nigel Farage, 57, who described the charity as a “migrant taxi service” for rescuing people perilously crossing the Channel in small boats.
Farage’s comments last week sparked an outpouring of appreciation for the Royal National Lifeboat Institution and its vital life-saving work at sea.
It led to the charity being inundated with donations of more than £200,000 on Wednesday – around 30 times its £6,000–£7,000 daily average. Volunteering inquiries also quadrupled.
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GoFundMe page creator Simon Harris wrote in the description: “I am trying to raise enough money to buy a new lifesaving hovercraft for the RNLI, and I would like it to be called ‘The Flying Farage’.
"I feel this would be incredibly appropriate due to Mr Farage taking such an active interest in the RNLI’s activities.”
Mr Harris, from Southend-on-Sea, Essex, also donated £5,047 – raised through two separate fundraisers on his ‘Men Behaving Dadly’ Facebook page.
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He joked leftover funds could be used to buy a second vessel in honour of political commentators Katie Hopkins or Darren Grimes – suggesting the names “The Galloping Grimes” or “The Hovering Hopkins”.
Mr Harris added: “The final decision about whether or not to proceed with The Flying Farage is entirely at the RNLI’s discretion.”
A RNLI spokesman thanked donors and supporters, adding: “The outpouring of support we’ve received recently is overwhelming.”
