TRIBUTES have been paid to a "much loved lady" who served the RNLI and her community for decades.

The Holyhead lifeboat station says it is "sad to announce" that Mrs Mabel Self MBE, died peacefully last Thursday morning (April 19), after a short period of ill health.

Mabel, who was 96-years-old, had only recently stepped down from her duties at the station shop, where she had been a dedicated volunteer since it opened in 2005. Before that, she fulfilled many other duties.

Mabel started fundraising for the charity almost 50 years ago. Over the years she became a much-loved member of not just the lifeboat station, but the community as a whole. Her dedication to the RNLI was described as "second to none." She received an MBE for services to the Holyhead Ladies Lifeboat Guild, and was made an Honorary Life Governor of the RNLI for her tireless commitment to the charity.

Holyhead coxswain Tony Price described her as "a fantastic part of the team here," and commended her for her "long and valuable service."

He remembered how, in her 70’s, she travelled across to a fundraising event in nearby Llanfwrog in the inshore lifeboat. "She loved every second!" He said. She never lost her zest for life; last October, aged 95, she travelled with members of the crew to Barmouth, for the naming of the new lifeboat, named after crewman Craig Steadman, who died in a road accident.

Mabel was also famed for her kindness and wonderful catering skills; from her yearly buffets for the crew on New Year’s Day, to her famous bara brith.

The RNLI’s regional manager Stuart Wallace said: "I know how much a part of the Holyhead Lifeboat family she was and my thoughts are very much with her family and the Holyhead lifeboat family."

The RNLI flag at the station was lowered to fly at half-mast as a mark of respect.