The ashes of a former Angus man came “home” in a poignant ceremony on the county’s coast.
The volunteer crew at Arbroath RNLI welcomed an unexpected guest when Margaret McHardy, from Stafford, visited the lifeboat station with several members of her family.
They had come to scatter the ashes of William Robby McHardy off the town’s harbour wall.
Mr McHardy was a former resident and Mrs McHardy recalled the times she had returned to visit the town with him.
She said: “Bill left Arbroath when he was 22 to start his career in the RAF, which lasted for 26 years.
“He travelled the world but, on his return, we always had to go to Arbroath and it was a family joke that the first thing we always had to do was go to the harbour to make sure it hadn’t moved.
“So that, and his love of the sea, made the choice of where to spread his ashes very easy.
“We all had a thoroughly enjoyable time at the lifeboat station and took great comfort from the crew that were present.”
The family was given a tour of the station and both lifeboats by members of the crew and, before leaving, Mrs McHardy handed over a cheque for £1,000 in her husband’s memory.
Alex Smith, lifeboat operations manager at Arbroath, expressed his thanks for the donation.
He said: “We didn’t know that Margaret and her family were intending on visiting but, luckily, a few of the guys were there and able to give them a tour round the station and both our lifeboats.
“It is a fantastic and generous gesture for which we are extremely grateful, and the donation will go towards providing vital training and equipment for the crew,” he went on.
“I know Margaret is due to visit Arbroath again later in the year with a friend so we all look forward to seeing her then.”
More people than ever before were rescued by crews in Scotland last year, according to the latest official figures from the charity.
The Royal National Lifeboat Institution said that 1,175 people were rescued in 2014, compared to 1,008 the previous year.