A SEA shanty crew has been formed in West Cumbria. 

The Whitehaven Solway Sea Shanty Crew was formed by David Bainbridge. 

He decided to set up the group due to his love of music and has already sparked some local interest. 

Mr Bainbridge said: "I've been interested in shanties and work songs for many years since the days of the old Whitehaven Folk Club. 

"I used to do the odd sea shanty at open mic nights, but they work a lot better with at least four or five people. 

"It was in the back of my mind to put a group together to sing sea shanties, and a former work colleague suggested it but it never came to fruition. 

"I realised that if I was going to do it I'd have to do it myself. Once I finished work I've been spending my time learning music and working with a couple of different choirs. 

"Along with some members of one of the choirs that I sing in, I started recruiting people, and we've got around a dozen people who are fairly fluid. 

"One of my ambitions was to get a group together in time for Whitehaven Harbour Fest, but this didn't happen for various reasons. 

"Soon after Harbour Fest, we were able to form a group and we began looking for somewhere to practice. 

"It was arranged that we would do our rehearsals at The Beacon on Whitehaven harbour. 

"We meet there three weeks out of four to practice, and one of the agreements was to perform for their Christmas event in December, which we will be doing next month. 

"At the moment we've only been together for five weeks. We've tried to look for some funding to get PA equipment but this hasn't happened yet. 

"In the future, I'd hope that we can get some community funding, meanwhile we are just singing acapella with the power of our voices."