Burnley plumber offering free work fears company closure

A plumber who provides free work for elderly and disabled customers fears he may have to shut down his company because of a lack of funding.

James Anderson, 54, of Burnley, carries out free work for people who might otherwise struggle to afford it.

But he has warned the not-for-profit company may not be able to continue past December amid pressure on cash-flow caused by the pandemic.

"It would mean a lot more people suffering," he said.

Mr Anderson earned worldwide attention after he refused to charge an elderly customer for work on her boiler.

The receipt for the work for the 91-year-old woman with leukaemia, which noted she would not be charged "under any circumstances", went viral.

The plumber's community-interest company Depher has been funded by a roughly equal split from paying customers and donations.

In an attempt to boost funds Mr Anderson has now written to local MPs, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and even the Queen but has so far had no success.

"We used to have enough money coming so we could help a lot of people," Mr Anderson said.

"But we're now at the stage where, if things don't change and we don't see an improvement in private jobs coming in or a massive improvement in funding coming in, then Depher may have to shut permanently."

The company has also branched out and provided PPE to nursing homes and the NHS, set up a food bank and organised surprise birthday parties for children whose parents had been furloughed or laid off.

But this work was a further drain on funds and Mr Anderson said he had not taken a salary since the start of the first lockdown.

Depher, which Mr Anderson says has helped as many as 17,000 people, currently employs about 10 staff, but has already had to let one full-time apprentice go.

Mr Anderson said: "We've already started the redundancies and I don't want to do any more."

Why not follow BBC North West on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram? You can also send story ideas to [email protected]