A Rotherham licensee has become an inspiration to all charity fundraisers having completed his 16th year of raising money for charities locally and abroad.

Les Hince, of Three Horseshoes on Bawtry Road in Wickersley never seems to stop and has several fundraising ventures on the go at any one time.

He is due to make his third trip in 12 months to Gambia in the new year to deliver 3,000 pairs of childrens shoes donated by Rotherham school children. As if that wasn’t enough, the experienced fundraiser has also collected £18,000 this year alone through various events at the pub and fundraising in the town which is to be spent on charities and people in need locally. Having lovingly restored an old caravan converting it into an impressive santa’s sleigh he is currently touring Rotherham area, with the help of volunteer elves.

Three to four days a week the sleigh is stationed at Morrisions in the town with the other days in the run up to Christmas spent visiting children in neighbouring villages, bringing festive joy to all. Les has also arranged a special treat for the children at Rotherham Children’s hospital – a visit from Rotherham Town FC laden with teddy bears and gifts.

“I’ve been charity fundraising for as long as I can remember. People are amazingly generous and I’m quite confident we can raise our target from £18,00 to £30,000 next year. As well as donating used shoes to children in Gambia, through the monies raised and gifts from supermarkets Asda and Morrisons we have been able to sponsor two schools in Senegal supplying all-important stationary”, said Les Hince. “All the money we raise locally we distribute locally to help those in need. For example, we have just helped one family by paying for a stairlift for their daughter who is disabled following a car accident and another brave single mum who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer, so that she can pay for an extra special Christmas for her children this year”, he continued.

Commenting on Les, Jon Perkins area manager for the Three Horseshoes parent company Stonegate Pub Company, said, “Les is an inspiration to us all. He’d been fundraising for causes at home and abroad now for 16 years and is an enthusiastic and driven now as the day he started. His efforts which started out as small scale are now monumental and he now raises funds through Lions International. From Halloween discos to Come Dine with Me nights at the pub, he’s always planning another fundraising initiative. He’s one of life’s truly selfless guys.”