STAFF and contractors at RWE npower's Great Yarmouth Power Station have raised �1,600 for East Anglian Air Ambulance and have also raised awareness of safety at the same time.

STAFF and contractors at RWE npower's Great Yarmouth Power Station have raised �1,600 for East Anglian Air Ambulance and have also raised awareness of safety at the same time.

The 420MW Combined Cycle Gas Turbine (CCGT) power station produces enough electricity for over 300,000 homes.

During the station's recent annual maintenance outage, when the power station is closed to complete routine repairs and inspections, safety audits are conducted to gauge the knowledge of personnel working at the station.

The station donates �50 for every successful audit completed. The power station raises money for local charities in this way every year.

Bruce Trayhurn, Environment Health and Safety Advisor at Great Yarmouth Power Station, said: “During outages we have to bring in additional work force in order to carry out the maintenance work, so we need to ensure that they know about our site's health and safety procedures.

“During the safety induction we tell contractors about the safety audits and that they can raise money for a local charity if they pass the audits. The contract workers think this is a great idea and always work hard to ensure they raise their �50 for charity.”

Commissioned in 2002, Yarmouth Power Station is one of the UK's most modern stations. The gas-fired power station contributes around �4.5m towards the local economy each year and employs around 35 permanent staff.