A LIFEGUARD club is faced with a fundraising challenge after equipment worth more than £800 was stolen.

A yellow kayak and a red and yellow rescue ski belonging to Redditch Life Saving and Lifeguard Club were stolen from Arrow Valley Countryside Centre between 5pm on Saturday, July 15 and 7pm on Tuesday, July 18.

The kayak is worth £340 while the rescue ski is worth £500.

Club trainer Val Wilson said it was very upsetting as they did not have the funds to replace the equipment.

She said they could not claim on insurance and so were trying to look at other ways of raising cash, even bag packing at supermarkets.

"We have other boards but we don't have another canoe," she said.

"We have just about finished our training for the summer so we will just have to manage with what's left - we could borrow from other clubs but it's difficult to transport them."

She said training at the club, which has about 50 members, was coming to an end for this year and new sessions would start properly next summer, so they had until then to try to raise the money.

"We have a few more exams to do, so we will have to manage with what we have - it's just very upsetting."

Anyone with any information about the thefts should call Redditch police on 08457 444888.