UKSA, the Isle of Wight's maritime charity, has appointed a new chief executive.

Richard Thornton, who previously worked at The Prince's Trust as deputy director of operations, will arrive at the Cowes-based youth education and maritime charity on June 10.

Before the Prince's Trust role, he worked for national youth charity Fairbridge and saw it through its merger into the Prince's Trust.

Richard said: "UKSA is one of the UK’s leading charities for youth education and maritime training.

"At a time when youth unemployment continues to climb and the future can appear bleak for a whole generation of young people, there is an ever greater need for organisations like UKSA.

"The support they provide genuinely creates exceptional opportunities for young people to move towards a brighter future. It is essential work and I am privileged to be part of it.

"It's a great honour to join UKSA’s leadership team and have the opportunity to build on its success."

UKSA's chair of trustees, David Lister, added: "We are very pleased and excited Richard is joining us.

"His comprehensive experience with Fairbridge and The Prince's Trust, coupled with his proven ability to create and drive strategy make him the ideal person to lead UKSA in its ambitious development plans.

"We intend to continue to grow our influence as a voice of young people and to reach more beneficiaries through partnerships and new delivery bases across the UK.

"We are looking forward to Richard joining the team with real optimism for the future."
Image and Text from county press.