Les pauvres sont riches

Lucky day: Laurie Harrison, from Clitheroe, winner of the vintage Rolls-Royce which was generously donated by Bill Richards to be raffled for Help For Heroes, a charity which helps wounded soldiers.

The Roller in a raffle: £5,000 raised for charity from car donated by ex-miner worth £15,000!


When Nathaniel McMaster went out looking for raffle prizes to raise money for wounded soldiers he was probably counting on a few bottles of wine and perhaps some homemade jam.
So the 15-year-old was astonished when one man handed him the keys to a 1972 Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow.
Former miner, Bill Richards, 62, now a social club landlord, donated his pride and joy to charity after being moved to tears by the stories of courage and tragedy from the frontline in Afghanistan.
Now his Silver Shadow Mark One has been won by a classic car enthusiast who bought two £1 tickets when the car was the top prize at a raffle for Help For Heroes.

In all, the raffle, which was held at a steam rally, raised £5,000. Unfortunately, the Rolls was worth around £15,000.
Last night, however, Nathaniel was just delighted that Help For Heroes would be benefiting.
‘I believe in my country,’ he said. ‘I just want to help out my country.’

The teenager said he was amazed when Mr Richards told him he could have the car. He had been at a car boot sale with his mother Diane, 39, when Mr Richards approached.
Nathaniel said: ‘I do lots of car boot sales for Help For Heroes and Mr Richards came up and said “I’ll give you a Rolls-Royce”. I presumed he meant a toy, then he said it was a full-sized one with 80,000 miles on the clock.’
Mr Richards’ late wife Angela had suggested he donate the car after seeing on TV some of the terrible injuries suffered in Afghanistan.
She died of cancer at the end of last year and Mr Richards wanted to honour her memory.

Fundraising: Nathaniel McMaster, who wants to join the Army, raised £5,000 for Help For Heroes.

The grandfather said: ‘The car was not being used. When you see these lads and girls coming home the way they are, I thought it might raise some money to help.’
Classic car fan Laurie Harrison, 59, a part-time jazz musician, was playing at the Chipping Steam Fair near Clitheroe, Lancashire, and bought the winning ticket. He said: ‘I still can’t believe I won it.’
Mrs McMaster, of nearby Leyland, said: ‘I’m so proud of my son and it is amazing to think he was able to land himself a Rolls-Royce as a prize when the most people would hope for is jars of jam and a bottle of wine.’