Young sea cadets left high and dry after an engine belonging to their safety boat was stolen, will soon be back on the water after another one was donated.

The theft meant Dudley Sea Cadets were not allowed to go sailing on the lake at Himley Park.

A safety boat has to be on standby in case the sailing boats, called Toppers, capsize. Chairman Keith Sabin, a driver for the Beacon Centre for the Blind, told the Express & Star last week the charity would have to plunder its own funds to pay for a new engine costing £2,500.

But following the article a steward at the Working Men’s Club in Stourport has come forward to donate an engine he owned.

Tom Barstow, aged 66, said: “When I read about the plight of the cadets I wanted to help.

“I used to go sailing at the seaside with my children years ago but now the engine is just gathering dust.

“The volunteers do a lot to help the young cadets and i just can’t believe someone would stoop to stealing from them even in a credit crunch.”

Mr Sabin, aged 53, of East Street, Quarry Bank, said: “All the cadets are chuffed to bits.

“We are very grateful to Mr Barstow and his generosity has saved us a lot of money.

“We did think we would have to use funds raised from bag packing at a supermarket and earmarked for weekend trips away at the Royal Navy base in Plymouth.”

The 30 regular members aged 10 to 18 were left disappointed when they were unable to do their fortnightly sail.

Thieves forced the door to the boat shed earlier this month and smashed a window to grab the engine which was on a stand and which would have needed two people to carry it away.

It is the second break-in to hit the club in Tipton Road, when thieves first struck before Christmas they made off with power tools worth £2,700 including drills and power washers used to maintain the boats as well as computer equipment.

Mr Sabin said the club, founded in 1943, would now have to install alarms.