Dozens of runners raced along the seafront for the 24th annual Lifeboat Run.

The sun mercifully made an appearance on Sunday as 50 people of all ages and abilities took part in the fundraising event for the RNLI, the charity which saves lives at sea.

The juniors set off from Family Amusements in Marine Parade, down to the Ship on Shore pub and back, a distance of roughly two miles.

The first to cross the line was Charlotte Tyrell in a time of 8min 59sec, followed by Connor Lavender, who finished in 9min 2sec.

The seniors started from the same position but went up to the end of The Leas and back, a distance of approximately five miles.

The winner for the second year in a row was James Allchin who broke is own course record by two seconds with a time of 26min 32sec.

Runner-up Craig Rousell was closely followed by Tomas Thorndycroft in third place.

The first lady past the post was Sarah Appleby in a time of 39min and 11sec followed by Michelle Gruber and Kate Ware.

Afterwards the competitors were invited to the lifeboat station in Sheerness Dockyard for refreshments and trophies and commemorative medals, presented by operations manager Colin Washford.

Mr Washford said: “Our sincere thanks go to Audrey and Les Read at The British Admiral pub in James Street, Sheerness, who sponsored the event by providing all the trophies, medals and refreshments at the lifeboat station.

“Our thanks also to Duane Ashworth of the Beach pub who generously provided the bottles of water which were well received by all the competitors along the route.

“Finally our thanks Andy Wilmore and his fellow Rotarians who marshalled the event and to everyone else who helped out not just on the day but also in the setting up and organising of the event.”