DUNDEE’S lifeboat crew has vowed to enter a bidding war in the battle to keep an Oor Wullie Bucket Trail favourite in their own community.
Plans have been revealed for a group in Arbroath to buy the Lifesaver Wullie statue — which has been placed near Broughty Ferry lifeboat station all summer.
But now, bosses at the Ferry’s RNLI service have said “he’s Oor Wullie” — and plan to raise their own funds ahead of the auction of the statue next month.
The service’s management group said there had been local uproar when the Arbroath plans emerged, and has now vowed to battle to keep him in the Ferry permanently.
The group also claims to be the best folk for looking after the statue — nicknamed Stormy Stan — because they’ve been keeping him clean.
Ian Philp, chairman of the management group, said: “When the bid to take the statue away from Broughty Ferry was revealed, people were stopping me on the street to ask what I was going to do about this.
“The lifeboat crew has now set up a Justgiving page where we are asking for the help of the wider community to come forward and raise the funds to secure his stay.
“There have already been a few donations, but we are looking for more to reach our target of £10,000.
“The statue has ‘RIP Mona’ etched on the bucket of the sculpture to honour the memory of the brave souls from here who lost their lives in 1958.
“He has been looked after so affectionately by the crew. The crew has been extremely excited for the upcoming auction and for the chance to bid and purchase Stormy Stan Wullie in order to keep him within the community where he has been so comfortably welcomed.”
Lifeboat coxswain Murray Brown added: “When we first heard he was coming to join us, we were thrilled.
“Since then he has not only proven popular with the locals, but has become a valuable member of the crew, regularly participating in exercise drills, as well as assisting on some shouts in really challenging conditions.
“This nonsense of Arbroath trying to buy him like some lower-league footballer is not acceptable.
“We must do everything we can to keep him within the Ferry.”
The Oor Wullie statues will be auctioned on September 13, with the proceeds going to the Archie Foundation’s Tayside Children’s Hospital Appeal.
The Arbroath campaign, launched by 33-year-old Gemma Rice, has raised £592 through a crowd- funding page, which has a target of £6,000.
And separate donations from businesses in the town, take Arbroath’s total raised so far to £1,000.