A 100-year-old bottle of brandy worth up to £1,000 was officially unveiled to life-boat staff during a special ceremony in Poole. 

It was revealed by Paul Bossier, chief executive of the RNLI, who spoke about a Mrs Mary Sennett who gifted the bottle to the charity in her will, which was received after her death in 1990.

He said that the brandy has been locked away in a safe at the charities base on New Quay Road, along with instructions that it should be sold at auction in 2014 for the RNLI and the WWF UK.

David Baines, the specialist wine consultant from Charterhouse Auctions, based in Sherborne, was valued the bottle.

He said: “It has a lovely white seal on the top, which is good. The level for the age is pretty good and it has the date on it which is most important to see. With the history of it, the fact the WWF and the RNLI are involved, I would say that somebody may pay between for £500 and £1,000 for that.”

Guy Rose, Legacy Manager at the RNLI, said: “It’s fantastic and really important that we receive these legacies of gifts and money to the charity as they fund six out of 10 of our launches.

“We treat all the legacies the same, no matter how big or small they may seem, as they all help our work.

“In the past we’ve been given a gold tooth, stamp collections in a suitcase, a classic powerboat from the 1960s and even a pet parrot.

“Often these items are more personal to the people giving them than gifting money and for us it is just another great way to support the charity.”