Plumber offers free work to older people over winter

A plumber who has been providing free work to older people and disabled customers over the winter period is now aiming to raise enough money to help around 1,000 families.

James Anderson, who lives in Burnley, is now calling on other tradesmen to offer their help to the older generation during the winter months.

Mr Anderson runs a not-for-profit service called Depher which works with a network of heating engineers and plumbers with the aim of helping customers that will not be able to pay for the work.

Plumber’s work goes viral

After an invoice from Depher for £0 for work that was done on a boiler of a 91-year-old lady with leukaemia went viral, their work has picked up lots of publicity.

This has resulted in members of the public donating money that has been up to thousands of pounds to help the cause as well as Depher receiving lots of new work.

In total, the plumber has received £80,000 in donations from all over the world and has not only been offered financial support, but he has also been offered holidays.

Speaking to the PA News Agency, James Anderson, said: “A lot of them haven’t got a lot of income, a lot of them haven’t got a lot of family they can turn to, and most of the time the family they’ve got can’t afford to help them.

“A lot of them are in a situation where they end up paying what they haven’t got to get these repairs done.”

“The cold weather’s coming in now, and we’re getting a lot more calls than we’re used to because everybody now knows about it.”

Older people who suffer from mobility issues and use aids like a stair lift can benefit from the services of Mr Anderson. To find out more about the different work you can take advantage of, visit the Depher website here.