THE Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) have revealed detailed of their latest projects.

Their annual January coffee morning, held in the Town Hall, attracted around 100 local residents and visitors. It gave an opportunity to share details of the latest projects but also raise valuable funds for their activities.

This year £340 was raised towards providing a defibrillator at the station for the benefit of those living and working nearby and those travelling on the Bentham Line.

With a £1,000-plus funding target in mind for the defibrillator, the members of FOBS decided to hold a quiz and pie & peas supper evening in early March which raised a further £320 for the project.

A very entertaining evening was had by all 50 quizzers with a superb locally-made supper enjoyed at half-time.

Northern, the train operator, generously provided travel prizes, not only for the quiz winners but a raffle too. Its success has encouraged the FOBS volunteers to hold further quizzes in the future.

During April three envelopes arrived at the station each containing a kind donation to the defibrillator project: a £300 cheque from a local couple, followed by one from the Bentham Line Dancers group for £100, with a third donation of £100 from a project supporter. This brought the total raised to £1,160 and will cover the cost of the defibrillator, a cabinet and initial replacement supplies.

FOBS are looking to participate in ‘£999 Defibrillator Scheme’ run by the Yorkshire Ambulance Service charity.

The friends group at neighbouring Clapham station and their Parish Council, along with the Wennington and Tatham Parish Councils, have also indicated that they would like to site defibrillators at their stations.

The Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership (CRP) has agreed to cover the cost of appropriate and reliable electrical installations at all three stations, while Northern will support the ongoing running costs of the machines.

With existing defibrillators at Leeds, Skipton and Lancaster stations, the CRP would like to support their installation at all stations along the Bentham Line.

The 'Bentham Line' is the working title for the Leeds-Morecambe Community Rail Partnership (CRP). It was set up in 2006 and has its offices at Bentham Station and works to improve services and develop community links along the railway line.

The route goes from Heysham and Morecambe, on the west coast, via Lancaster and Carnforth through the idyllic Lune and Wenning valleys with Ingleborough as a backdrop. It then continues to Skipton and along the Aire Valley which includes the more urban area from Keighley to Leeds, thus linking the West Coast mainline at Lancaster with the East Coast mainline at Leeds.

The CRP chairman, Gerald Townson, is also chairman of Friends of Bentham Station (FOBS) which shares the station buildings at Bentham. He is also secretary of the Lancaster and Skipton Rail User Group (LASRUG).

The website for the line is leedslancastermorecambecrp.co.uk.

The Friends of Bentham Station was formed in September 2011 by individuals and representatives of other community groups. Their work to enhance the station and involve the local community has received national recognition and inspired other voluntary station adoption groups to develop their stations as gateways to their communities.